lilllilUlliltliiilii! 


i  PROTESTANTISM 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" 


A.  HOB  SON 


BX  4810  .H7  1917 

Hobson,  Alphonzo  Augustus 

Positive  Protestantism 


I  .      ' 


Positive  Protestantism 


Positive  Protestantism 

NOV  16  191 
A  Concise  Statement  of  the  Histort^i^^^.,^  ^^^, 
Origins^  the  Positive  Affirmations^  and 
thi  Present  Position  of  Protestantism 


By  A.  AUGUSTUS  HOBSON,  PH.  D. 

Pastor,  First  Baptist  Church,  Waltham,  Mass. 


COMPLETE  EDITION 


THE  GRIFFITH  AND  ROWLAND  PRESS 

Philadelphia 
Boston  St.  Louis  Los  Angeles 

Chicago  New  York  Toronto 


Copyright  1917  by 
GUY  C.  LAMSON.  Secretary 

Published  October,  191 7 


DEDICATED 

TO 

ALL  EARNEST  INQUIRERS 

AFTER  THE  TRUTH 


PREFACE 


This  book  grew  out  of  a  series  of  sermons  on 
''  Protestant  Affirmations."  The  writer  had  so 
many  requests  to  suggest  a  book  which  would  pre- 
sent the  origin,  principles,  and  prospects  of  Prot- 
estantism that  he  made  a  diligent  search  for  such. 
Inability  to  find  a  book  covering  this  entire  field 
led  to  the  determination  to  write  one.  There  are 
many  histories,  many  theologies,  many  controver- 
sial works,  but  so  far  as  he  could  discover  no  posi- 
tive constructive  statement  treating  all  the  field  and 
showing  Protestantism  as  it  is  to-day.  It  is  the 
author's  hope  that  this  little  book  may  fill  the  need. 
Many  pastors  may  find  it  a  useful  book  to  have 
ready  to  give  inquirers  upon  this  subject. 

Much  more  could  have  been  written  upon  the 
various  matters  treated.  The  purpose  of  the  author 
to  meet  the  need  of  the  ordinary  reader  rather  than 
of  experts  has  guided  in  the  selection  of  the  material. 
Into  the  Appendix  has  been  put  a  considerable 
amount  of  valuable  evidential  material  to  which 
many  thoughtful  readers  will  wish  to  refer,  but 
which  could  not  be  included  in  the  body  of  the  book 
without  too  greatly  retarding  the  movement  of 
thought.     The  historical  statement  has  been  made 

vii 


viii  Preface 

especially  brief,  since  if  longer  statements  are  de- 
sired they  are  readily  accessible. 

Credit  should  be  given  to  most  of  the  books  cited 
in  the  Book-list,  but  the  author  desires  to  make 
special  mention  of  his  indebtedness  in  historical 
discussion  to  T.  M.  Lindsay  and  to  H.  C.  Vedder. 
In  the  discussion  of  the  doctrinal  matters  great 
indebtedness  to  C.  A.  Von  Hase  and  F.  H.  Foster 
should  be  acknowledged. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

Introduction xi 

PART  I 

Historical  Origins  of  Protestantism 

I.  The    World    Situation     Before    the 

Reformation    3 

II.  The  Lutheran  Movement  14 

III.  The  Reformed  Churches  25 

IV.  The  Anabaptist  Movement  38 

V.  The  Counter-Reformation    45 

PART  II 

Protestant  Affirmations  of  Christian 
Truth 

I.  Agreements  and  Disagreements 57 

11.  Salvation  :  By  Faith  or  Law  ? 64 

III.  Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament?  . .     80 

ix 


Contents 


Chapter  Page 

IV.  Protestant  Conception  of  the  Func- 
tion AND  Authority  of  the  Church  io8 

V.  Romanist  Deformities  and  Protestant 

Implications    153 

PART  III 

The  Present  Protestant  Situation 

I.  The  Nature  and  Extent  of  the  Divi- 
sions OF  Protestantism 187 

II.  The  Unity  and  Cooperation  of  Prot- 
estantism      219 

III.  The  Prospects  of  Protestantism  239 

Appendix    257 

Book-list  for  Reference  and  Study  . . .  302 

Index  3^5 


INTRODUCTION 


The  increase  in  the  number  and  aggressiveness  of 
Roman  Catholics  in  this  country  has  raised  anew, 
especially  for  the  popular  mind,  the  question  as  to 
the  differences  of  Romanism  and  Protestantism. 
This  situation  and  the  apparently  growing  considera- 
tion of  a  reunion  of  Christendom  demands  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  two  branches  of  the  church. 
The  present  statement  is  to  proceed  chiefly  from 
the  point  of  view  of  positive  affirmation,  and  will 
consequently  show  how  false  is  the  more  or  less 
frequent  assertion  that  Protestantism  is  only  nega- 
tive as  the  word  "  Protestant  '*  implies.  The  aim 
will  be  less  at  controversy  than  at  exposition,  more 
at  making  Protestantism  clear  than  at  proving  Ro- 
manism wrong,  though  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
the  very  setting  forth  of  Protestantism  in  contrast 
to  Romanism  involves  some  refutation.  Such  an 
exposition  should  be  presented  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  Protestantism  has  developed  since  its  early 
stages.  Accordingly,  the  principles  underlying  the 
actions  and  teachings  of  the  reformers  are  to  be  set 
forth  as  they  have  come  to  be  grasped  and  applied 
to-day,  rather  than  as  they  have  been  understood  in 
the  past.    Thus,  aiming  at  a  positive  modern  state- 

xi 


xii  Introduction 


ment  of  Protestantism  the  discussion  will  seek  to 
avoid  the  spirit  and  terms  of  academic  theology, 
and  to  treat  the  subject  in  the  interest  of  the  ordi- 
nary man  who  desires  personal  light  as  to  the  re- 
ligious significance  of  Protestantism. 

The  three  main  considerations  requiring  exposi- 
tion are  the  historical  origins  of  Protestantism,  the 
positive  Protestant  affirmations  of  religious  truth, 
and  the  present  status  of  Protestantism. 


Parti 
l)i$toricdl  Origins  of  Protestantistn 


CHAPTER  I 

THE    WORLD    SITUATION    BEFORE    THE    REFORMATION 

With  astonishing  rapidity  the  aim  of  Jesus'  last 
command,  which  bade  the  disciples  go  everywhere 
with  the  gospel  (Matt.  28  :  19,  20),  was  achieved 
in  many  places  throughout  the  Roman  Empire.  The 
apostles  and  their  companions  went  from  place  to 
place,  and  especially  to  the  great  centers  of  influence 
and  power,  with  the  message  of  Jesus  the  Messiah. 
Those  who  were  led  to  accept  Jesus  as  the  Christ 
were  baptized  and  gathered  in  groups  to  worship 
and  to  learn  more  of  "  the  way  "  of  the  gospel. 

The  ideas  of  the  gospel  and  the  church  were  quite 
simple.  The  emphasis  lay  upon  the  spiritual  and 
practical  as  opposed  to  the  external  and  theoretical 
sides  of  religion.  Personal  faith  in  Christ,  issuing 
in  a  life  worthy  of  such  faith,  was  the  heart  of  the 
gospel.  There  was  little  organization.  The  minis- 
ters were  of  two  kinds.  Each  church  had  pastors, 
sometimes  several,  who  were  called  by  the  inter- 
changeable titles  of  "  bishop  "  or  "  elder,"  and  there 
were  also  deacons  who  relieved  the  pastors  of  cer- 
tain tasks.  No  particular  ritual  was  universally 
used.  Public  worship  consisted  in  prayer,  praise, 
preaching,  and  the  reading  of  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures,  and  such  books  of  the  New  Testament 

3 


Positive  Protestantism 


as  chanced  to  be  possessed.  The  Lord's  Supper  was 
observed,  sometimes  as  often  as  every  week.  With 
this  simpHcity  in  teaching,  worship,  and  organiza- 
tion the  early  church  spread  itself  throughout  the 
Roman  Empire. 

The  departure  from  this  simplicity  came  through 
the  influence  of  ideas  which  permeated  the  whole 
pagan  world,  and  in  a  great  measure  had  a  place  in 
Judaism,  in  the  midst  of  which  and  out  of  which  the 
Christian  church  was  growing.  Everywhere  sav- 
ing eflicacy  was  ascribed  to  religious  ceremonies, 
and  special  prerogatives  and  powers  were  regarded 
as  inhering  in  orders  of  priests.  Under  the  influ- 
ence of  ritualism  and  priestism,  baptism,  used  at 
first  as  the  sign  of  faith  and  the  entrance  into  the 
Christian  community,  came  to  be  regarded  as  the 
indispensable  means  of  initiation  into  the  Chris- 
tian life.  Under  the  same  influence  the  Lord's 
Supper  ceased  to  be  thought  of  as  merely  a  me- 
morial meal  and  developed  into  a  ceremonial  vehi- 
cle of  grace.  The  freedom  of  early  Christian  teach- 
ing suffered  a  partial  eclipse,  and  all  doctrine  had 
to  square  with  the  "  rule  of  faith "  or  accepted 
church  tradition.  The  office  in  the  church  which 
had  been  designated  by  the  identical  but  inter- 
changeable titles  "  presbyter  "  (elder)  and  "  bishop  " 
(pastor)  became  two  distinct  offices,  of  which  the 
bishopric  was  the  superior.  The  entire  body  of 
ministers  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  sacerdotal  order 
with  the  special  privileges  and  powers  of  a  priest- 


The  World  Before  the  Reformation  5 

hood.  The  church  itself  came  to  be  thought  of  as 
a  saving  ecclesiastical  institution,  outside  of  which 
there  was  no  real  communion  with  God  and  conse- 
quently no  salvation. 

One  of  the  elements  of  the  development  continued 
in  a  most  natural  way  and  to  astonishing  limits. 
The  bishop  in  his  first  differentiation  from  the  pres- 
byter was  superior  only  in  his  own  local  church.  By 
a  further  step  a  bishop  in  a  great  city  gradually  ac- 
quired a  dominating  influence  over  the  bishops  of 
other  lesser  churches,  both  in  his  own  city  and  in 
surrounding  regions.  This  predominance  of  influ- 
ence was  after  a  while  recognized  as  absolute  au- 
thority. A  further  and  similar  process  of  exalting 
certain  of  these  preeminent  bishops  followed,  until 
the  bishops  of  such  great  centers  as  Alexandria, 
Antioch,  Jerusalem,  and  Rome  were  regarded  as 
having  at  least  moral  authority  and  power  over 
lesser  bishops.  By  the  time  of  the  Council  of  Nice 
(A.  D.  325)  the  episcopate  was  quite  fully  devel- 
oped, with  the  four  just  mentioned  above  others 
and  on  a  par  with  one  another. 

Gradually,  after  the  division  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire, the  bishops  of  Rome  and  Constantinople,  the 
seats  respectively  of  the  Western  and  Eastern  Em- 
pires, attained  a  preeminence  over  all  others  because 
of  their  location  in  the  centers  to  which  men's  minds 
were  accustomed  to  turn  for  advice,  leadership,  and 
authority.  After  the  fall  of  Rome  (A.  D.  476), 
when  the  political  power  which  had  controlled  the 


Positive  Protestantism 


world  for  so  long  came  to  an  end,  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  or  the  pope  as  he  had  come  to  be  called, 
naturally  secured  a  great  increase  of  veneration  as 
the  chief  personage  in  this  ancient  center  of  leader- 
ship and  authority.  Even  the  Council  of  Chalcedon 
(A.  D.  451),  conceding  equal  privileges  to  Constan- 
tinople and  Rome,  recognized  the  bishop  of  Rome 
as  having  some  superiority  because  he  was  at  Rome. 
In  the  absence  of  a  strong  political  power  in  the 
West,  the  papacy,  the  one  strong  social  institution, 
was  increasingly  looked  to  for  the  security  of  so- 
ciety. Successive  popes  tried  to  increase  this  aug- 
mented veneration  into  an  actual  authority  over  the 
whole  church.  After  centuries  of  struggle  between 
the  popes  and  temporal  rulers  of  the  world,  and 
also  between  the  popes  and  patriarchs  of  Constanti- 
nople, the  papacy,  claiming  to  be  the  successor  not 
only  of  Peter,  but  also  of  the  Roman  Empire,  be- 
came the  supreme  ruling  power  of  the  West,  though 
the  Eastern  Church  never  recognized  the  universal 
supremacy  and  authority  of  the  pope.  The  height 
of  Rome's  power  was  reached  under  Gregory  VII 
(1073-1085),  and  it  continued  for  a  long  time  after 
without  successful  opposition. 

The  supremacy  of  the  popes  was  built  up  very 
largely  on  the  basis  of  certain  forged  documents^, 

1  These  were  the  Pseudo-Clementine  Letters  and  Homilies  (second 
century),  the  Donation  of  Constantine  (fourth  century),  and  the 
Pseudo-Isidorian  Decretals  (ninth  century).  For  their  admitted 
snuriousness  see  the  Catholic  Encyclopedia  and  R.  J.  Miller,  p.  168. 
The  full  title  of  Miller's  book,  as  well  as  of  all  others  referred  to 
hereafter,  may  be  found  in  the  Book-list,  pp.   302,  303. 


The  World  Before  the  Reformation  7 

which  appeared  from  time  to  time,  and  whose  spu- 
riousness  is  now  admitted  even  by  Romanists, 
though  the  supremacy  built  on  the  spurious  founda- 
tion is  still  claimed.  The  arguments  from  the  forged 
documents  were  buttressed  by  taking  actual  de- 
crees of  small  significance  and  developing  gradually 
their  interpretation  to  the  desired  support  of  the 
papal  claims.  After  long  periods  these  developed 
interpretations  gained  acceptance.  These  legal  con- 
siderations found  supplementary  support  in  the 
trend  of  popular  thinking.  Certain  tendencies  of 
popular  religion  grew  until  "  no  good  Catholic 
doubted  that  in  spiritual  matters  the  clergy  were  the 
divinely  appointed  superiors  of  the  laity,  that  this 
power  proceeded  from  the  right  of  the  priests  to 
celebrate  the  sacraments,  that  the  pope  was  the  real 
possessor  of  this  power  and  was  far  superior  to  all 
secular  authority."  -  This  popular  conception  was 
most  important,  since  the  fear  of  the  people  com- 
pelled temporal  rulers  to  yield  to  the  pope's  dicta- 
tions of  policy  and  interference  with  governments. 
It  was  likewise  at  the  foundation  of  the  papacy's 
control  of  the  entire  church. 

In  this  situation  only  one  authority  raised  itself 
above  the  pope — the  general  council.  Such  a  coun- 
cil was  composed  of  all  of  the  bishops  of  the  world, 
and  was  called  from  time  to  time  to  settle  disputes 
which  arose  in  the  church.  But  even  the  authority 
of  the  general  council  over  the  pope  came  to  be  dis- 

-Harnack,  "History  of  Dogma,"  VI,    13211.,  Eng.  translation. 


Positive  Protestantism 


puted  before  the  Reformation,  so  that  as  that  period 
approached  the  pope  was  beginning  to  assert  his 
absolute  superiority. 

This  supremacy  of  the  papacy  was  destined  to 
be  undermined  by  forces  which  before  the  time  of 
the  Protestant  Reformation  had  been  working  for 
several  centuries.  One  set  of  these  forces  was 
political.  The  actual  limits  of  Christendom  had  be- 
come very  much  confined.  The  more  important 
part  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Eastern  Church  was 
overrun  by  Mohammedans.  Constantinople  fell  be- 
fore them  in  1453.  From  this  time  the  fear  of  the 
Turk  played  no  unimportant  part  in  European  af- 
fairs and  later  in  the  Protestant  movement.  Again, 
in  the  countries  which  were  most  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  Reformation,  a  consciousness  of  na- 
tionality, with  a  consequent  tendency  to  national 
consolidation,  had  proceeded  quite  far  in  displacing 
the  license,  lawlessness,  and  weakness  of  the  feudal 
system  under  which  medieval  life  had  so  long  ex- 
isted. Already  England,  Spain,  and  France  had 
been  made  nationally  compact,  and  this  national  con- 
solidation confronted  the  papacy  with  new  and 
strong  forces.  On  the  other  hand,  while  in  Ger- 
many and  Italy  the  nationalizing  tendency  was  less 
markedly  developed,  yet  the  influence  of  many 
strong  principalities  and  free  cities  tended  away 
from  the  absolutism  of  the  papacy. 

These  political  developments  manifest  one  side 
of  a  new  consciousness  which  was  arising  in  the 


The  World  Before  the  Reformation  9 

world.  The  dawning  of  this  consciousness  is  called 
the  Renaissance.  The  ideas  and  modes  of  thought 
of  the  medieval  times  were  passing  over  into  those 
of  the  modern  period.  True  scientific  methods  be- 
gan to  be  applied  in  the  study  of  nature.  Geo- 
graphical exploration  settled  the  question  as  to  the 
shape  of  the  earth.  Expansion  of  trade  brought  a 
new  spirit.  The  rise  of  new  nations  raised  the  es- 
timate of  the  worth  of  the  individual  citizen.  The 
fall  of  Constantinople  scattered  throughout  western 
Europe  some  men  who  sold  ancient  manuscripts  and 
other  classical  treasures,  and  others  who  taught 
Greek  and  Latin,  so  that  an  immense  impetus  was 
added  to  the  wide-spread  awakening  of  learning. 
The  invention  of  printing  and  the  development  of 
the  manufacture  of  paper  made  this  learning  ac- 
cessible to  a  great  many.  Through  the  schools  and 
universities  the  spirit  of  the  Renaissance  spread  and 
also  had  a  wide  and  decided  influence  upon  the 
masses. 

The  university  leaders  are  known  as  Humanists. 
The  religious  situation  naturally  claimed  their  at- 
tention, and  many  of  them  agitated  for  plainly 
needed  reforms.  Such  agitation  had  been  going  on 
in  many  regions  a  long  time  before  the  Reforma- 
tion. In  Italy,  the  fate  of  Savonarola,  who  was 
hanged  and  burned  !May  23,  1498,  served  to  em- 
phasize the  improbability  of  any  reform  coming 
from  within  the  hierarchy.  Yet  the  Humanists  of 
all  lands  continued  to  preach  a  moral  renewal,  and 


10  Positive  Protestantism 

the  application  of  the  existing  church  laws  to  the 
acknowledged  ecclesiastical  evils  and  abuses.  Co- 
let  in  England  and  Erasmus  on  the  Continent  held 
up  to  scorn  the  debased  rehgious  life  of  the  times, 
and  denounced  the  Judaism  and  paganism  of  the 
people.  The  effect  of  Humanism,  though  not  of 
itself  great  enough  to  bring  about  reform,  was  a 
helpful  addition  to  the  impetus  toward  reforma- 
tion. 

Another  current  of  impelling  forces  inhered  in 
the  wide-spread  popular  unrest.  The  masses,  feel- 
ing not  only  the  oppressions  of  the  church,  but  also 
the  burden  of  their  unhappy  political  and  economic 
situation,  were  discontented.  The  social  unrest 
was  similar  in  nature  and  extent  to  that  of  the 
present  time.  Then  as  now  there  was  a  great  in- 
crease in  the  wealth  and  luxurious  living  of  the 
privileged  classes  and  of  the  more  prosperous  among 
the  middle  classes,  without  any  corresponding  cessa- 
tion of  the  hardships  and  poverty  of  the  remainder 
of  mankind.  Socialistic  movements  sprang  up 
everywhere  during  this  period.  Some  of  Luther's 
statements,  and  the  utterances  of  the  most  radical 
Anabaptists,  met  a  ready  response  because  they 
seemed  to  express  the  popular  hope  for  social  im- 
provement. 

The  popular  unrest,  however,  was  more  religious 
than  social.  Several  elements  of  the  religious  situa- 
tion helped  the  spread  of  the  Reformation.  The 
essential  characteristic    of    the    religious    life    was 


The  World  Before  the  Reformation  ii 

simple  family  piety,  and  this  furnished  fertile  soil 
for  the  seed  of  such  preachers  as  Luther.  Men  were 
also  beginning  to  suspect  in  a  vague  way  the  claim 
that  salvation  could  be  secured  through  the  grace 
which  the  church  alone  could  bestow.  They  felt 
the  heavy  burden  of  the  ecclesiastical  exploitation 
of  superstitious  fears  and  of  meeting  ecclesiastical 
requirements.  Pilgrimages,  praying  to  the  saints 
and  worshiping  them,  the  cult  of  Mary  by  which 
Jesus'  mother  became  of  more  importance  than 
Christ  himself,  the  buying  of  indulgences  for  sin, 
and  many  similar  practices  were  the  outstanding 
features  of  church  life.  A  simpler  way  to  God, 
freed  of  superstitious  fears,  such  as  the  Reform- 
ers preached,  was  a  door  of  hope.  In  Germany, 
and  in  the  more  remote  communities  of  several 
countries  which  had  felt  the  influence  of  previous 
attempts  at  a  restoration  of  New  Testament  religion, 
and  which  were  to  become  the  harvest-fields  of  Ana- 
baptist successes,  there  were  many  people  pious  at 
heart  yet  opposed  to  the  church.  The  Brethren,  who 
were  the  Nonconformists  of  that  time,  were  actu- 
ally organized  in  societies  of  their  own,  though 
these  were  not  legally  or  ecclesiastically  recognized 
as  churches.  They  naturally  vv^elcomed  the  Refor- 
mation. 

The  impulsion  toward  the  Reformation  was  aug- 
mented by  the  common  knowledge  of  the  corrup- 
tions in  the  Church,  and  especially  in  the  Roman 
Curia.      The    facts    in    the    case    are    admitted    by 


12  Positive  Protestantism 

Romanists.^  The  scandalous  life  of  some  of  the 
popes  was  the  talk  of  Europe.  Their  luxurious  and 
profligate  living  was  naturally  copied  by  many  of 
lesser  position.  Celibacy  had  proved  a  wretched  fail- 
ure and  was  commonly  unobserved  by  priests.  For- 
malism was  the  inevitable  result  of  this  insincerity 
and  viciousness.  Moreover,  the  financial  corruption 
of  the  church  was  all  but  beyond  belief.  Aside  from 
the  needs  of  the  luxurious  manner  of  Hfe  of  the 
papal  court,  the  governing  of  the  papal  states  *  de- 
manded immense  revenues.  These  were  secured 
from  tithes,  numerous  systems  of  fees,  sales  of  in- 
dulgences, special  privileges,  and  ecclesiastical  of- 
fices, which  last  were  often  created  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  being  sold.  Even  the  papacy  itself  was 
believed  to  have  been  bought  by  the  highest  bidder 
in  more  than  one  instance.  In  Luther's  day  the  time 
was  well  remembered  when  three  popes  were  anathe- 
matizing one  another  from  dififerent  ecclesiastical 
capitals,  and  all  three  had  to  be  deposed  by  a  general 
council.  The  connection  of  such  a  family  as  the 
Borgias  with  a  Christian  institution  is  hardly  con- 
ceivable, and  the  presence  of  any  of  them  in  the 
papal  chair  or  the  college  of  cardinals,  as  was  the 
case,  seems  incredible,  since  practically  every  crime 
on  the  calendar  may  be  justly  charged  to  one  or 

3  See  Pastor's  "  Lives  of  the  Popes,"  a  Roman  Catholic  work  exe- 
cuted under  special  permission  of  Leo  XIII. 

*  The  popes  were  rulers  of  certain  parts  of  Italy  as  local  sover- 
eigns. This  local  sovereignty  was  of  a  nature  different  from  the 
supremacy  claimed  by  popes  over  all  rulers. 


The  World  Before  the  Reformation  13 

another  of  them.  These  and  numerous  similar  facts 
were  the  basis  of  the  opinion  commonly  held  at  the 
time  of  the  Reformation  that  the  unreforrned  papacy 
was  the  open  sore  of  Europe,  and  were  also  the 
ground  of  the  execrations  of  the  papacy  uttered  by 
almost  every  contemporary  writer.^  It  was  but 
natural,  therefore,  that  men's  minds  were  expecting 
a  change,  and  were  only  awaiting  the  leadership 
which  would  bring  about  that  change. 

^  The  Romanist  theologian  ]Moehler  puts  the  situation  thus:  "Prot- 
estantism arose  partly  out  of  the  opposition  to  much  that  was  un- 
deniably bad  and  defective  in  the  church,"     ("  Symbolism,"  p.  9.) 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    LUTHERAN    MOVEMENT 

The  Reformation  was  that  aspect  of  a  great  world 
movement  which  focused  fermenting  force  upon  the 
church  and  rehgion.  It  was  not  confined  to  any 
one  country,  nor  was  it  the  achievement  of  any  one 
man.  Yet  in  Germany,  and  in  a  measure  in  all 
Europe,  Luther  was  the  preeminent  figure. 

Luther  was  born  of  poor  peasant  parents  in  1483. 
Through  the  great  sacrifice  of  his  father  and  mother 
he  was  able  to  study  for  the  legal  profession.  He 
graduated  with  high  honors,  and  in  1505  received 
the  master's  degree.  Occupied  with  his  education, 
he  could,  nevertheless,  not  escape  the  most  pressing 
question  of  his  time,  "  How  can  I  be  saved  ? " 
Greatly  troubled  at  the  state  of  his  own  soul,  he 
suddenly  decided  in  the  midst  of  a  fearful  thunder- 
storm that  he  would  enter  a  monastery  and  by  good 
works  make  sure  of  his  personal  salvation.  A  year 
later  he  was  consecrated  a  monk. 

The  result  was  tragic.  The  most  painstaking 
conformity  to  the  requirements  of  the  Augustinian 
Order,  which  he  had  joined,  brought  no  peace  of 
mind.  He  continually  troubled  his  superior  with 
his  doubts  as  to  his  salvation.    He  became  noted  for 

14 


The  Lutheran  Movement  15 

his  sincere  endeavor  to  meet  every  ecclesiastical  re- 
quirement. John  Stanpitz,  the  Vicar-general  of  the 
Augustinians,  noticed  the  emaciated  frame,  the 
gleaming  eye,  and  the  settled  look  of  despair  on  the 
face  of  the  earnest  young  monk,  and  urged  Brother 
Martin  to  read  the  Scriptures.  He  explained  to 
Luther  a  truly  evangelistic  view  of  how  to  secure 
spiritual  peace.  He  declared  that,  in  spite  of  the 
contrast  between  God's  righteousness  and  a  sinner's 
sin,  it  was  wrong  not  to  trust  the  heavenly  Father 
with  a  personal  faith  that  would  issue  in  such  fel- 
lowship with  God  as  could  not  doubt  his  promises  of 
forgiveness.  Luther  studied  the  New  Testament, 
and  finally  the  truth  for  which  he  had  been  seeking 
broke  upon  him  like  a  new  revelation  as  he  was 
reading  Paul's  letter  to  the  Romans.  With  the 
words,  "  The  just  shall  live  by  faith,"  spiritual  peace 
came.  Luther  was  now  convinced  on  the  basis  of 
the  Scripture  that  salvation  comes  not  through  con- 
formity to  ecclesiastical  requirements,  but  through 
the  free  grace  of  God  mediated  by  man's  faith  or 
confidence  in  God  as  Father.  The  experience  in 
which  this  conviction  was  crystallized  came  to  be 
the  foundation  of  his  subsequent  activities  and 
teaching. 

Not  long  after  Luther  had  secured  spiritual  peace 
he  was  called  by  Staupitz  to  become  a  teacher  in 
the  university  recently  established  at  Wittenberg  by 
Frederick,  Elector  of  Saxony.  He  attracted  wide 
attention,  and  by  the  freshness  and  incisiveness  of 


1 6  Positive  Protestantism 

his  presentation  of  Christian  truth  drew  to  the 
university  a  large  number  of  students.  Though 
Luther  was  still  a  loyal  son  of  the  church,  a  partial 
revelation  as  to  the  significance  of  his  growing  ideas 
was  given  him  by  a  journey  to  Rome.  He  was 
deeply  shocked  by  the  licentiousness  and  other 
wickedness  of  the  papal  city,  and  came  to  realize,  in 
some  measure  at  least,  the  futility  of  some  of  the 
practices  of  the  church  which  were  supposed  to 
secure  spiritual  advantages.  His  consequent  doubt 
and  perplexity  unquestionably  led  him  further  into 
the  study  which  resulted  in  the  convictions  that  were 
to  startle  all  Europe. 

It  was  the  announcement  by  Rome  of  a  new  sale 
of  indulgences  that  led  to  Luther's  public  statement 
against  Romanism.  The  pope  was  badly  in  need  of 
funds,  and  was  willing  to  grant  for  a  payment  of 
money  indulgence  for  past  and  future  sins.  Aside 
from  any  aspersion  upon  the  principles  of  Roman- 
ism, the  conducting  of  this  sale  was  the  crudest 
possible  exploiting  of  the  people's  superstitious 
fears.  The  priest  Tetzel,  who  had  charge  of  the 
sale  in  Germany,  presented  the  appeal  most  grossly, 
as,  for  instance.  Cardinal  Gibbons  admits.  Luther, 
himself  a  man  of  the  people,  was  enraged  that  the 
masses  were  being  deceived  in  the  sacred  matter  of 
religion.  As  Tetzel  drew  near  to  the  borders  of  the 
Elector's  domain,  from  which  he  had  been  debarred 
by  Frederick,  Luther  began  to  preach  against  the 
efficacy  of  indulgences  and  to  set  forth  that  only 


The  Lutheran  Movement  17 

personal  faith  could  save  men.  Finally,  on  October 
31,  1 5 17,  he  nailed  his  famous  ninety-five  theses  on 
the  church  door  at  Wittenberg. 

These  theses,  formally  considered,  were  merely 
proposed  points  for  debate,  but  they  nevertheless 
revealed  Luther's  positive  contentions  as  to  indul- 
gences, and  they  constituted  a  real  attack  upon  the 
Roman  Church,  its  practices  and  teachings.  The 
theses  attracted  at  once  the  eye  of  the  public.  They 
v^^ere  printed,  and  the  monk  professor  was  amazed 
that  copies  were  immediately  sold  far  and  wide, 
and  astonished  that  his  popularity  extended  to  all 
parts  of  Germany  and  his  fame  throughout  the 
world.  He  had  given  forceful  and  clear  expression 
to  what  multitudes  of  men  had  more  or  less  vaguely 
been  feeling  and  thinking.  He  had  struck  the  spark 
which  was  to  fire  Christendom. 

Rome  resented  the  theses  and  demanded  Luther's 
presence  at  the  papal  court.  Secure  in  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Elector  Frederick,  who  was  disposed 
favorably  to  his  successful  university  professor, 
Luther  remained  at  Wittenberg.  Rome  then  chal- 
lenged him  to  a  public  disputation  at  Leipzig.  The 
ideas  of  John  Wyclif,  put  forth  in  England  nearly 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  prior  to  this  time,  had 
been  elaborated  and  firmly  taught  by  John  Hus  in 
Bohemia.  Hus  was  burned  at  the  stake  by  the 
Council  of  Constance  in  141 5,  and  his  heresies  were 
execrated  by  all  Roman  Christendom.  To  connect 
Luther  with  Hussism  and  thus   to   discredit   him 


Positive  Protestantism 


before  Europe  as  a  heretic  was  the  purpose  of  John 
Eck,  his  Romanist  antagonist.  Eck  succeeded  in 
convincing  the  papal  court  of  this  connection,  and 
also  in  arousing  Luther  to  a  realization  that  his 
ideas  did  coincide  in  some  measure  with  the  teach- 
ings of  Hus,  and  were  inherently  hostile  to  certain 
positions  of  Rome.  Nevertheless,  Luther  lost  little 
if  any  prestige  among  those  who  already  sympa- 
thized with  him. 

The  disputation  at  Leipzig  led  Luther  to  see  that 
he  was  going  beyond  a  mere  criticism  of  the  excres- 
cences of  Romanism.  His  stimulated  study  resulted 
in  clearer  and  stronger  convictions,  which  he  set 
forth,  together  with  their  practical  implications,  in 
sermons,  pamphlets,  letters,  and  treatises.  Printed 
copies  of  these  flooded  the  land,  and  were  eagerly 
read  by  all  classes  of  people  in  Germany  and  in 
other  parts  of  Europe.  The  strength  of  the  Refor- 
mation movement  accordingly  increased. 

Meanwhile  Rome  issued  a  bull  excommunicating 
Luther.  In  that  age  such  a  bull,  followed  by  the  ban 
calling  upon  all  Christian  princes  to  inflict  punish- 
ment, was  a  thing  of  power.  Luther  never  quailed, 
but  before  an  assembled  crowd  burned  the  bull  at 
Wittenberg.  Thus  this  monk,  a  few  years  before  lit- 
tle known,  challenged  the  mightiest  power  in  the 
world. 

At  this  challenge  a  thrill  ran  throughout  Chris- 
tendom. Mighty  monarchs  had  before  this  burned 
papal  bulls,  but  never  had  a  poor  monk,  apparently 


The  Lutheran  Movement  19 

unsupported  save  by  his  own  faith,  dared  such  a 
thing.  But  Luther  received  support  at  once.  Ger- 
man universities  refused  to  pubhsh  the  bull.  The 
common  people  and  some  of  the  princes  were  ready 
to  stand  by  the  courageous  monk,  who  now  became 
a  national  hero.  The  Elector  Frederick  resolved  to 
give  his  university  professor  protection.  Luther 
was  for  the  time-being  safe. 

The  death  of  Emperor  Maximilian  changed  the 
situation.  King  Charles  of  Spain  was  elected  to  the 
vacancy.  He  called  the  diet  composed  of  represen- 
tatives of  the  empire  to  meet  at  Worms  in  1521. 
On  account  of  the  German  princes  and  people, 
Charles  did  not  dare  to  proceed  summarily  against 
Luther  as  the  papal  emissaries  desired.  Luther  was 
summoned  to  appear  at  the  diet,  and  was  promised 
a  safe-conduct  to  and  from  Worms.  His  friends, 
fearing  that  Charles  would  be  no  more  faithful  to 
this  promise  than  had  Emperor  Sigismund  to  his 
pledge  to  Hus  a  hundred  years  before,  advised  the 
monk  to  remain  safely  at  Wittenberg.  But  Luther 
courageously  set  out  upon  his  journey,  and  received 
a  popular  ovation  along  the  entire  distance.  He  out- 
maneuvered  the  papal  legates  and  the  emperor  who 
wished  to  make  him  simply  recant  or  admit  his  guilt, 
and  succeeded  in  getting  a  hearing  for  himself, 
though  not  a  trial.  His  concluding  words  exactly 
expressed  his  spirit  and  have  become  immortal :  "  It 
is  impossible  for  me  to  recant  unless  I  am  proved  to 
be  in  the  wrong  by  the  testimony  of  Scripture  or  by 


20  Positive  Protestantism 

evident  reasoning ;  I  cannot  trust  either  the  decisions 
of  councils  or  of  popes,  for  it  is  plain  that  they  have 
not  only  erred,  but  have  contradicted  each  other. 
My  conscience  is  bound  by  the  word  of  God,  and  it 
is  neither  safe  nor  honest  to  act  against  one's  con- 
science. I  cannot  and  will  not  retract.*  Here  stand 
I ;  I  can  do  no  other.  God  help  me !  "  ^  By  this 
stand  Luther  defied  the  mighty  emperor,  the  pope's 
champion,  as  well  as  the  pope  himself. 

Yet  Charles,  faithful  to  the  pledge  of  a  safe-con- 
duct, and  probably  fearing  the  princes  and  people 
of  Germany,  permitted  Luther  to  leave  Worms  un- 
harmed. Then  the  world  was  startled  by  the  news 
that  the  monk  had  disappeared.  The  wildest  rumors 
were  rife.  In  fact,  Luther  had  been  seized  by  the 
secret  order  of  the  Elector  Frederick  and  taken  for 
safe-keeping  to  the  Wartburg  Castle.  Here  Luther 
remained  for  nearly  a  year,  clad  as  a  knight  and 
known  as  Junker  Georg.  He  spent  his  time  translat- 
ing the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  into  German,  and 
in  preparing  publications  which  greatly  helped  his 
cause. 

Meanwhile  the  ban  of  the  empire  was  promul- 
gated. Luther's  books  were  burned,  but  this  re- 
sulted in  the  printing  of  greater  numbers  which 
were  carried  all  over  Europe.  The  edict  really 
fanned  the  flame  of  interest  in  Luther's  cause,  and 
in  Germany  it  was  openly  flouted.    In  a  few  years 

1  See  D'Aubigne,  "  History  of  the  Reformation,"  Vol.  II,  Bk.  VII, 
Chap.  VIII. 


The  Lutheran  Movement  21 

the  sweep  of  the  Lutheran  movement  was  so  great 
that  it  ceased  to  be  identified  with  the  personal  for- 
tunes of  Luther,  though  he  remained  the  preeminent 
leader  until  his  death. 

Repeated  attempts  by  both  pope  and  emperor  to 
settle  the  trouble  in  Germany  having  failed,  the  diet 
met  at  Speyer  in  1524.  Here  began  the  separation 
between  the  Protestant  and  Romanist  groups  of 
princes  and  cities  of  Germany.  The  south  German 
princes  were  held  loyal  to  Rome  by  certain  conces- 
sions, and  by  the  fear  of  the  "  tumult "  which  they 
thought  the  Lutheran  movement  was  arousing. 
This  separation  became  permanent  after  the  Peas- 
ants' war,  which  came  about  four  years  after  the 
Diet  at  Worms  as  the  explosion  of  the  social  un- 
rest. From  this  time  the  record  of  the  Reformation 
is  largely  the  story  of  the  struggle  of  the  Protes- 
tant princes  and  the  emperor. 

This  contest  continued  for  nearly  thirty  years. 
The  Protestant  princes  struggled  for  recognition 
of  the  Protestant  contentions,  as  defined  from  time 
to  time  by  the  Protestant  theologians,  and  for  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  right  of  the  Protestant 
churches  as  such  to  exist.  Charles  would  have  wel- 
comed a  reformation  of  the  whole  church,  but  could 
not  be  reconciled  to  anything  short  of  a  single  or- 
ganization of  all  Christendom  under  the  absolute 
authority  of  the  pope.  From  time  to  time  he  was 
prevented  from  working  his  will  in  Germany  by  the 
strength  of  the   Protestant  princes,  his   complica- 


22.  Positive  Protestantism 

tions  with  his  enemies  Hke  Francis  of  France,  his 
wars  with  the  pope  and  others,  and  the  menace  of 
the  Turk.  He  called  meetings  of  the  diet  a  number 
of  times,  expecting  to  settle  the  controversy  through 
this  agency.^  Later  he  tried  without  success  to 
force  upon  the  people  compromise  creeds.  He  suc- 
ceeded finally  in  having  the  pope  call  a  general 
council,  which  met  in  1545,^  but  this  council,  be- 
cause of  its  control  by  the  pope,  failed  to  bring  a 
solution.  Finally  the  emperor  resorted  to  war,  for 
he  repudiated  the  authority  of  the  Council  of  Trent 
and  was  at  his  last  resource.  For  the  first  few  years 
Charles  was  completely  victorious,  and  German 
Protestantism  seemed  about  to  be  snuffed  out. 
Then  the  political  situation  changed.  War  was  re- 
newed, and  Charles  was  badly  defeated.  He  fled 
(1552)  and  barely  escaped  by  a  few  hours.  He  had 
dismally  failed  in  Germany,  and  a  little  later  handed 
over  affairs  there  to  a  regent.  In  1555  the  diet  met 
at  Augsburg,  where  a  permanent  peace  was  arranged 
such  as  might  have  been  had  at  any  time  within  the 
preceding  thirty  years  had  it  not  been  for  Charles' 
obstinacy. 

By  the  peace  of  Augsburg  "  it  was  agreed  that 
the  Lutheran  religion  should  be  legalized  within 
the  empire,  and  that  all   Lutheran  princes  should 

2  At  the  meeting  at  Speyer,  in  1529,  the  Protestant  princes  brought 
in  a  protest  against  the  rescinding  of  an  action  taken  at  a  ^former 
meeting.  This  protest  gave  rise  to  the  name  "  Protestant."  The 
protest  was  not  entirely  a  religious  document,  and  was  far  from  an 
adequate  statement  of  Protestantism.     But  the  nickname  stuck. 

3  The  council  continued  its  meetings  until   1563. 


The  Lutheran  Movement  23 

have  full  security  for  the  practice  of  their  faith ;  that 
the  medieval  episcopal  jurisdiction  should  cease 
within  their  lands,  and  that  they  were  to  retain  all 
ecclesiastical  possessions."  Romanist  rulers  were 
not  to  be  molested,  and  rulers  of  neither  party  were 
permitted  to  change  their  religious  affiliation.  The 
people  of  a  given  section  must  follow  the  religion 
of  their  ruler.  Accordingly,  the  then  existing  status 
was  made  permanent,  and  the  south  German  states 
were  permanently  saved  to  Romanism.  The  diet 
recognized  the  Augsburg  Confession,  which  had 
been  made  by  Protestant  theologians  in  1530,  as  the 
standard  of  Lutheran  doctrine. 

This  victory  does  not  seem  so  tremendous,  judged 
by  modern  and  especially  American  standards.  "  It 
may  be  said  with  truth  that  there  was  less  freedom 
of  conscience  under  the  Lutheran  territorial  system 
of  churches  and  also  under  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  reorganized  under  the  canons  and  decrees 
of  the  Council  of  Trent  than  there  had  been  in  the 
medieval  church."  The  peace  of  Augsburg  confined 
itself  to  the  adherents  of  the  Augsburg  Confession, 
not  including  even  the  Swiss  Protestants.  But  for 
that  age  it  was  a  great  victory,  and  it  was  the  first 
step,  if  only  a  short  one,  to  the  religious  liberty  of 
Europe.  It  was  the  first  permanently  effective  blow 
to  the  absolutism  of  the  pope. 

Lutheranism  had  now  extended  itself  throughout 
Germany  except  in  the  southern  provinces,  where 
also  it  was  not  without  many  adherents.     It  had 


24  Positive  Protestantism 

exerted  a  great  influence  in  practically  every  land 
of  Western  Christendom.  Moreover,  the  Lutheran 
Reformation  had  legally  established  itself  in  Den- 
mark, Norway,  and  Sweden  long  before  Luther's 
death. 

The  positive  ideas  contributed  by  Lutheranism 
were:  (i)  That  salvation  and  religious  life  de- 
pend essentially  upon  personal  trust  in  God  rather 
than  upon  the  dispensation  of  divine  grace  through 
the  ecclesiastical  machinery;  (2)  that  the  faith  of 
any  individual  gives  him  access  to  the  Father  of  all 
immediately,  even  without  the  mediation  of  a  spe- 
cially ordained  priesthood;  and  (3)  that  the  church 
is  not  to  be  controlled  as  a  whole  by  the  pope  as  ab- 
solute head,  but  by  believers  themselves,  nation  by 
nation,  though  in  connection  with  and  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  state.  The  application  of  these  princi- 
ples by  Lutherans  resulted  in  the  change  of  cer- 
tain ecclesiastical  and  religious  practices  which  had 
a  greater  hold  upon  the  popular  mind  than  the 
principles  themselves  because  they  were  better  un- 
derstood. Among  these  were  the  doing  away  with 
the  medieval  bishopric  and  its  privileges,  control  and 
oversight  of  the  churches  being  now  lodged  in  the 
secular  authority;  the  cessation  of  pilgrimages  and 
of  the  use  of  relics  as  of  saving  efficacy;  the  mar- 
riage of  priests  and  nuns ;  and  the  extension  of  the 
cup  of  the  Lord's  Supper  to  the  laity,  the  sharing  of 
which  was  limited  by  Romanism  to  the  priesthood. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   REFORMED   CHURCHES 

LuTHERANiSM  was  Only  one  current  of  the  Refor- 
mation. The  same  forces  which  issued  in  the  Lu- 
theran movement  in  Germany  were  at  work  in  other 
countries.  Even  before  the  time  of  Luther  they  had 
been  gathering  strength.  Leaders  sprang  up  in  each 
land.  In  Switzerland,  Italy,  Spain,  France,  Scot- 
land, the  Netherlands,  and  England  men's  sympa- 
thies, hopes,  and  purposes  were  touched  by  Luther's 
influence  as  the  planted  seed  is  touched  by  the  light 
and  warmth  of  the  sun  and  brought  thereby  to 
fruition. 

The  story  of  the  Reformation  outside  Lutheran- 
ism  is  in  a  considerable  measure  the  record  of  the 
Reformed  churches.  They  differed  from  Lutheran- 
ism  in  many  minor  points,  but  the  chief  differences 
lay  in  two  directions.  Luther  had  been  essentially 
controlled  in  his  thinking  by  his  great  personal  ex- 
perience, and  thus  emphasized  chiefly  the  central 
place  in  religion  of  experiential  faith.  Calvinism, 
the  theology  of  the  Reformed  Churches,  was  led, 
perhaps  under  the  influence  of  Humanism,  to  em- 
phasize as  of  first  importance  the  doctrine  of  the 
sovereignty  of  God.  Secondly,  Luther's  tempera- 
ment led  him  to  cling  tenaciously  to  some  elements 

25 


26  Positive  Protestantism 

of  medievalism  under  whose  influence  he  had  been 
reared.  The  consequent  residue  of  medievaHsm  in 
Lutheranism  was  in  a  measure  avoided  by  the 
Reformed  Churches,  with  two  outstanding  results. 
They  evolved  a  more  democratic  form  of  church 
government,  and  held  a  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
farther  removed  from  that  of  Romanism. 

These  differences  were  not  lessened  by  the  un- 
doubted bond  of  sympathy  which  existed  among  all 
Protestants.  Indeed,  the  strong  bonds  uniting  Re- 
formed Churches  in  beliefs,  practices,  and  sympa- 
thies did  not  prevent  some  minor  differences.  As 
was  to  be  expected,  the  life  of  the  church,  touched 
by  the  forces  of  the  Reformation,  unfolded  in  each 
country  under  the  influence  of  each  nation's  tradi- 
tions, history,  and  characteristics.  This  diverse  un- 
folding may  be  easily  noted  in  the  study  of  the 
Reformation  in  each  of  the  important  countries. 

In  Switzerland  the  Reformation  began,  almost  as 
soon  as  in  Germany,  under  the  leadership  of  Huld- 
reich  (Ulrich)  Zwingli.  Zwingli's  personal  revolt 
against  Rome  took  its  rise  not  so  much  from  deep 
religious  emotional  experience,  as  was  the  case  with 
Luther,  but  rather  from  such  intellectual  considera- 
tions as  Humanists  discussed,  and  from  his  innate 
honesty  which  rebelled  against  the  shams  that  were 
involved  in  the  superstitious  practices  of  the  medie- 
val church.  He  was  at  first  unopposed  by  Rome,  be- 
cause his  movement  was  a  less  incisive  attack  than 
Luther's  upon  the  m.orals  and  religion  of  the  papal 


The  Reformed  Churches  2y 

court,  and  because  the  popes  had  for  a  long  time 
depended  upon  Switzerland  for  hired  soldiers  to 
fight  their  numerous  battles  and  therefore  must 
needs  treat  the  Swiss  cantons  with  caution.  The 
break  came  when  Zwingli  began  to  urge  that  it  was 
wrong  for  the  Swiss  to  sell  themselves  as  hired  sol- 
diers. Zwingli  contended  for  practically  the  same 
things  a$  Luther,  but  went  beyond  him  in  denying 
any  bodily  presence  of  Christ  in  the  elements  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  in  maintaining  that  these  ele- 
ments were  only  symbols  of  Christ's  body  and  blood. 
Zwingli's  influence  quickly  spread  into  the  various 
Swiss  cantons.^  In  Zurich  the  Great  Council  had 
met  the  difficulties  of  the  controversy  over  religion 
by  providing  public  disputation  of  the  matters  in- 
volved. The  free  discussion  of  these  disputations 
uniformly  profited  the  Protestant  cause,  and  the 
further  employment  of  public  disputations  by  various 
cantons  was  largely  responsible  for  the  spread  of 
the  Reformation  in  Switzerland.  By  1528  most  of 
the  cantons  had  become  Protestant  and  formed  a 
league  for  mutual  protection.  This  league  became 
involved  in  war  with  the  Romanist  cantons,  and 
Zwingli  lost  his  life  in  battle.-  Victory  vacillated 
from  one  side  to  the  other  until  Zurich  lost  the 
leadership  of  Protestantism  in  Switzerland. 

'^  Switzerland  was  divided  into  various  independent  republics,  bound 
together  by  an  agreement  whose  spirit  and  purpose  were  expressed 
in  the  motto,  "  Each  for  all,  and  all  for  each." 

2  For  notice  of  the  moral  life  of  the  reformers,  see  Appendix, 
Note  I. 


28  Positive  Protestant 


ism 


This  leadership  was  taken  up  by  Geneva,  which 
was  located  in  the  French-speaking  part  of  Switzer- 
land. Froment  and  Farel,  two  French  evangelist 
preachers,  had  met  initial  success  in  establishing 
here  the  cause  of  Protestantism,  but  were  unequal 
to  the  task  of  making  it  permanent.  This  task  fell 
to  John  Calvin  who,  next  to  Luther,  was  the  greatest 
of  the  Reformers,  and  as  a  theologian  surpassed  all 
others.  His  influence  abides  to-day  in  the  Reformed 
and  Presbyterian  Churches. 

Calvin  was  born  in  Noyon,  France,  of  prosperous 
parents.  He  was  educated  for  the  priesthood  and 
then  for  the  legal  profession  under  strong  Humanist 
and  liberal  teachers.  He  passed  through  a  religious 
experience  similar  to  Luther's,  though  less  soul- 
stirring.  This  brought  him  definitely  and  com- 
pletely to  Protestant  views.  Of  the  keenest  intellect, 
he  became  one  of  a  brilliant  Parisian  group  of 
Protestant  leaders.  He  was  compelled  to  flee  from 
France  because  he  published  a  defense  of  Protes- 
tant ideas.  In  his  exile  he  completed,  when  still 
only  twenty-six  years  of  age,  his  famous  "  Institutes 
of  the  Christian  Religion,"  which  was  by  all  means 
the  clearest  and  strongest  statement  of  Protestant 
beliefs  that  had  appeared  up  to  that  time,  and  be- 
came the  basis  of  Calvinistic  theology. 

By  chance  he  came  to  Geneva  when  he  was 
twenty-seven,  and  was  induced  to  take  up  the  task 
of  establishing  Protestantism  there.  His  deep  piety, 
his  enormous  learning,  and  his  determined  purpose 


The  Reformed  Churches  29 

soon  made  him  a  recognized  leader.  His  rigorous 
endeavor  to  make  the  city  a  Protestant  theocracy 
met  opposition  from  both  Romanists  and  some  Prot- 
estants. At  one  time  he  was  exiled  from  the  city, 
and  went  gladly,  hoping  to  resume  the  quiet  life  of 
a  scholar.  But  the  city  could  not  get  along  without 
him  and  recalled  him.  Returning  with  reluctance, 
he  nevertheless  was  so  successful  in  his  efforts  that 
he  came  to  be  the  dominating  person  of  the  city. 

Calvin  did  three  things  at  Geneva.  He  trained  a 
ministry,  not  only  for  Geneva  but  for  the  entire  re- 
gion in  which  the  Reformed  Churches  had  influence. 
Men  came  from  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  the 
Netherlands,  Italy,  Spain,  and  especially  France, 
and  received  a  training  which  made  them  most  ef- 
fective in  evangelizing  the  communities  to  which 
they  returned.  Also,  by  his  own  preaching  and  his 
educational  policy  he  so  educated  the  people  of  Ge- 
neva that  it  was  commonly  said  a  Genevan  boy  could 
give  a  reason  for  his  faith  as  well  as  any  doctor  of 
the  Sorbonne  of  Paris.  Finally,  he  made  Geneva 
the  refuge  to  which  persecuted  Protestants  of  all 
Europe  fled  for  safety.  Thus  Geneva  became  the 
very  citadel  and  center  of  influence  for  the  Reformed 
Churches. 

Calvin  was  a  contribution  to  the  Reformation 
from  France.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  in  France 
that  the  ideas  of  Calvin  received  their  most  complete 
realization.  Before  the  fame  of  Luther  reached 
France,  in  15 18,  Margaret  d'Angouleme,  sister  of 


30  Positive  Protestant 


I  sin 


King  Francis  and  herself  Queen  of  Navarre,  had 
associated  herself  with  a  brilliant  group  of  Human- 
ist scholars  who  hoped  for  a  reformation  of  the 
church.  After  the  agitations  occasioned  by  Luther's 
influence,  this  "  group  of  Meaux,"  so  called  because 
its  leader  was  the  bishop  of  Meaux,  produced  at 
least  two  Protestant  leaders,  Lefevre  and  Farel.  As 
Protestantism  spread  through  France,  King  Francis 
vacillated  back  and  forth  from  partial  sympathy  and 
protection  to  vigorous  persecution,  according  as  for 
the  time-being  he  was  or  was  not  desirous  of  mak- 
ing a  political  alliance  with  German  Protestants 
against  his  enemy,  Emperor  Charles.  After  Fran- 
cis' death,  in  1547,  his  successor,  Henry  II,  set 
about  a  determined  extermination  of  Protestantism, 
in  which  he  had  the  support  of  the  masses  of  the 
people,  of  his  all-powerful  mistress,  of  his  chief 
minister,  the  great  soldier  Montmorency,  and  of  the 
Guises,  a  great  family  which  had  risen  to  immense 
power  in  France.  But  already,  in  view  of  the  wide 
contrast  between  the  moral  lives  of  Protestants  and 
Roman  Catholics,  through  the  teaching  of  converted 
priests,  and  especially  by  the  work  of  ardent  young 
Frenchmen,  who  had  been  trained  at  Geneva  and 
who  taught  people  secretly  and  surreptitiously 
sold  Protestant  books  along  the  great  roads  and 
waterways,  Protestantism  had  spread  into  every 
district  of  France.  In  some  of  these  Protestants 
fairly  swarmed.  From  1540  on,  Calvin,  though  in 
Geneva,  was  the  leader  of  French  Protestantism. 


The  Reformed  Churches  31 

He  wrote  books,  gave  advice  which  was  received 
with  deference,  persuaded  by  letter  hesitating  Ro- 
manists, inspired  courage,  and  furnished  a  trained 
ministry.  Thus  the  French  Protestants  were  en- 
abled to  meet  strongly  and  unitedly  the  persecu- 
tions of  Henry  H  and  his  successors. 

By  1555  the  Reformed  Churches  had  begun 
their  organization,  which  was  advised  by  Calvin  and 
brought'  to  perfection  under  his  guidance.  Acces- 
sions from  the  aristocracy  gave  new  strength  to  the 
movement.  Then  the  terrible  persecutions  led  to 
the  religious  wars,  which  proceeded  with  varying 
fortunes  for  either  side.  The  terrible  massacre  of 
Saint  Bartholomew's  Day  occurred  in  Paris  on 
August  24  and  25,  1572.  It  w^as  disapproved  by  the 
German  Romanists,  but  was  hailed  in  Rome  with  an 
illumination  of  the  city.  A  medal  was  struck  to 
commemorate  the  event,  and  Cardinal  Orsini  was 
sent  with  the  congratulations  of  the  pope  and  col- 
lege of  cardinals  to  the  king  and  his  mother,  Cathe- 
rine de  Medici.  Later,  Henry  of  Navarre,  a  Prot- 
estant, the  legal  heir  to  the  throne,  was  permitted 
to  become  king  only  after  he  had  made  a  public  pro- 
fession of  Romanism.  Then  he  brought  the  entire 
struggle  to  an  end  by  the  edict  of  Nantes  in  1598. 
By  it  liberty  of  conscience  and  freedom  of  worship, 
as  well  as  legal  right,  were  granted  the  Protestants, 
though  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of  France, 
as  well  as  the  government,  remained  Roman 
Catholic. 


32  Positive  Protestantism 

The  struggle  in  the  Netherlands  was  as  fierce  as 
that  in  France.  The  Netherlands  included  what 
is  now  Holland,  Belgium,  and  parts  of  northern 
France,  and  had  been  inherited  by  Charles  of  Spain, 
who  became  also  Emperor  of  Germany.  Under  the 
influence  of  the  Brethren  of  the  Common  Lot  and 
such  leaders  as  John  Pupper  and  John  Wessel,  who 
have  been  called  forerunners  of  the  Reformation, 
the  forces  w^hich  were  making  toward  Protestantism 
had  already  progressed  quite  far  before  Luther's 
time.  Luther's  influence  was  instantaneous,  and 
was  followed  later  by  that  of  the  Reformed 
Churches.  Charles  ruled  the  Netherlands  through 
successive  women  regents  who  were  members  of  his 
family.  While  their  attitude  tended  to  check  a  lit- 
tle the  fierce  persecution  of  Protestants,  it  is  never- 
theless alleged  that  during  this  period  thirty  thou- 
sand people  were  put  to  death  in  this  land.  Yet  the 
number  of  Protestants  continued  to  increase,  es- 
pecially through  the  work  of  missionaries  who  had 
received  their  training  at  Geneva.  Later  the  Duke 
of  Alva  was  sent  by  Philip,  who  had  succeeded 
Charles,  to  govern  the  Netherlands.  This  monster 
ruled  without  any  regard  to  right  or  law  as  one  of 
the  most  pitiless,  unscrupulous,  and  high-handed 
tyrants  that  ever  held  power.  He  turned  the 
Netherlands  into  a  sea  of  blood.  Yet  he  left  the 
northern  part  at  least  nearer  to  freedom  and  Prot- 
estantism than  when  he  began  his  reign  of  terror. 
The  people  had  gathered  about  William  of  Orange 


The  Reformed  Churches  33 

as  the  champion  of  both  poHtical  and  reHgious  Hb- 
erty.  A  declaration  by  the  northern  provinces  es- 
tabHshing  themselves  as  a  Protestant  republic  led  to 
wars,  which  continued  from  time  to  time  until  1609. 
Victory  finally  lodged  with  the  Protestants  under 
William's  son  Maurice.  The  new  Protestant  state 
was  predominantly  Calvinistic. 

The  Protestants  of  the  Netherlands  and  France 
had  a  great  influence  in  preparing  Scotland  for  the 
Reformation.  There  still  remained  here  some  of  the 
influence  of  Wyclif,  of  the  Bohemian  martyr  Hus, 
and  of  the  English  Lollards,  who  were  in  a  measure 
followers  of  Wyclif  a  hundred  years  and  more 
before  Luther's  time.  In  spite  of  persecutions  that 
arose  through  Romanist  influence  from  France, 
Protestants  increased  in  numbers  in  Scotland  as 
elsewhere.  When  it  became  necessary  to  make  or- 
ganized efifort  for  recognition  and  legal  status,  the 
Lords  of  the  Congregation  of  Scotland  called  upon 
John  Knox  to  return  to  his  native  land  and  lead  the 
way.  Knox  had  been  an  exile  on  account  of  his 
Protestant  views  while  Romanist  influence  prevailed 
in  Scotland,  and  had  studied  and  worked  with 
Calvin  at  Geneva.  He  now  faced  a  situation  (1559- 
1567)  most  critical,  not  only  for  Scotland,  but  for 
all  Protestantism.  If  Rom.anist  France  could  main- 
tain a  hold  on  Scotland,  and  through  this  help  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots  to  establish  her  claim  to  the  throne 
of  England,  which  was  now  occupied  by  Elizabeth, 
not  only  would  the  Protestantism  of  England  and 


34  Positive  Protestantism 

Scotland  be  destroyed,  but  that  of  the  Netherlands, 
which  was  just  now  entering  its  supreme  struggle 
with  Philip  of  Spain,  would  be  endangered.  Thus 
Germany  would  be  left  alone  to  be  crushed  by  a 
ubiquitously  victorious  Romanism.  The  eyes  of  all 
Europe  were  turned  upon  Scotland.  Knox  saw,  and 
Cecil,  Elizabeth's  chief  adviser,  also  saw,  that  the 
only  hope  lay  in  an  alliance  between  England  and 
Scotland.  Cecil  persuaded  Elizabeth  to  make  the 
alliance,  and  in  1560  dealt  such  a  blow  in  Scotland 
that  France  never  regained  her  lost  hold  upon  that 
land.  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  returned  to  her  native 
land  from  her  sojourn  with  her  husband  the  King 
of  France,  and  continued  the  struggle  against  Knox, 
but  in  the  end  the  stern,  determined  preacher,  sup- 
ported by  the  commons  of  Scotland,  was  successful, 
and  Protestantism  in  Scotland  and  Europe  was 
saved. 

Meanwhile  the  Reformation  had  been  at  work  in 
England.  In  the  fourteenth  century  John  Wyclif, 
the  Morning  Star  of  the  Reformation,  had  done  a 
far-reaching  work  of  reform  whose  influence  was 
still  felt  in  England  at  the  time  of  Luther.  The 
Continental  movements  of  the  Reformation  inevita- 
bly affected  the  forces  already  at  work.  The  result- 
ing popular  attitude  toward  the  Reformation  was 
the  foundation  of  the  success  of  Henry  VIII  in 
throwing  off  his  relationship  to  the  pope,  for  popu- 
lar support  was  essential  to  this  end. 

The  actual  break  came  over  the  pope's  refusal  to 


The  Reformed  Churches  35 

annul  the  marriage  of  Henry  and  Catherine  of 
Aragon.  This  marriage  itself  had  been  consum- 
mated only  after  a  special  dispensation,  granted  re- 
luctantly by  the  pope,  and  made  necessary  because 
it  was  a  mortal  sin  to  marry  a  brother's  widow. 
Both  of  the  young  people  had  to  be  persuaded  by 
their  elders  to  give  up  conscientious  scruples  before 
they  were  willing  to  be  married.  It  was  natural 
that,  for  the  sake  of  the  legality  of  his  marriage, 
Henry  should  stand  loyally  by  the  supreme  power 
of  the  pope  whose  dispensation  made  the  marriage 
possible.  But  later,  when  it  was  certain  that  there 
would  be  no  male  heir  to  the  throne,  and  when  the 
influences  of  Henry's  Humanist  training  had  ma- 
tured, it  was  also  natural  that  he  should  again  turn 
to  his  earlier  doubts  of  the  validity  of  his  marriage. 
In  view  of  the  very  real  question  as  to  that  validity 
according  to  canon  law,  and  also  in  view  of  the  very 
real  dangers  which  the  lack  of  a  male  heir  to  the 
throne  might  bring  upon  England,  Henry  had  some 
justification  in  appealing  to  the  pope  for  another 
dispensation  to  annul  what  the  papal  power  had 
questionably  brought  about.  If  he  had  stood  on  this 
ground  alone  and  had  not  permitted  his  relations 
to  the  very  questionable  Anne  Boleyn  to  enter  the 
situation,  he  would  not  have  given  any  opening  for 
the  charges  which  have  too  often  without  measure 
been  made  against  him  and  his  action.  But  to  what- 
ever extent  the  passions  of  Henry  influenced  him, 
he  certainly  had  some  justice  in  his  position,  and 


36  Positive  Protestantism 

besides  had  to  act  in  view  of  the  popular  prog- 
ress which  Protestantism  had  already  made  in 
England.  The  pope  might  have  granted  the  dispen- 
sation had  he  not  just  then  been  in  the  power  of 
Charles,  whose  aunt  Catherine  was.  Accordingly, 
sure  of  popular  support,  Henry  in  1533  married 
Anne  without  waiting  for  the  pope.  Though  the 
pope  had  suggested  such  a  course,  Henry  was  ex- 
communicated. He  replied  by  breaking  completely 
with  Rome.  Certain  laws  were  passed  making  the 
break  final. 

Henry  proceeded  with  reform  cautiously.  After 
his  death  (1547)  the  changes  moved  along  faster 
under  the  leadership  of  strong  men  who  acted  for 
the  boy  king.  The  whole  situation  then  changed 
when  Mary,  who  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  succeeded 
to  the  throne.  (1553.)  The  five  years  of  her  rule 
were  a  complete  reaction.  All  of  the  antipapal  legis- 
lation of  the  two  preceding  reigns  was  repealed,  and 
so  terrible  did  the  persecution  of  Protestants  be- 
come that  the  people  called  their  queen  "  Bloody 
Mary."  But  Protestantism  was  not  to  be  destroyed. 
Elizabeth  succeeded  Mary  and  took  up  the  task 
of  making  England  permanently  Protestant.  She 
had  to  meet  both  foreign  and  domestic  opposition, 
but  was  finally  successful.  The  resulting  Anglican 
Church  already  showed  strong  marks  of  Calvinistic 
influence.  One  party  of  leaders  known  as  Puritans 
attempted  to  make  the  church  entirely  Calvinistic 
in   organization    and    doctrine.      The    other   party 


The  Reformed  Churches  37 

tenaciously  clung  to  certain  features  of  the  medieval 
church,  such  as  the  bishopric.  The  Puritans  failed, 
and  found  asylum  in  America  or  were  absorbed  by 
the  Anglican  Church  and  the  Independent  churches. 
The  English  Church  has  accordingly  remained, 
until  to-day,  more  medieval  than  most  other  Prot- 
estant bodies. 

The  influence  of  Zwingli  and  Calvin  spread  into 
even  other  countries  than  those  considered  in  this 
chapter.  Some  of  the  German  churches  were  of  the 
Reformed  type,  and  accepted  as  their  creedal  stand- 
ard the  Confession  of  Heidelberg.  (1563.)  Re- 
formed missioners  went  even  into  remote  parts  of 
Austria  and  Hungary,  and  succeeded  in  establish- 
ing churches.  In  the  north  of  Ireland  the  same  in- 
fluences gained  a  foothold  and  abide  till  to-day.  In 
America  Calvinism,  through  the  Presbyterians  and 
related  bodies,  has  had  a  very  great  influence. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  ANABAPTIST   MOVEMENT 

There  was  still  a  third  stream  of  the  Reformation 
which  was  even  farther  removed  from  Romanism 
than  either  Lutheranism  or  Calvinism.  The  people 
involved  in  this  third  stream,  though  divided  into 
various  groups,  were  indiscriminately  called  Ana- 
baptists. The  name  means  Rebaptists,  and  referred 
to  the  belief  of  the  bulk  of  the  people  of  these  groups 
that  all  persons  must  be  baptized  on  profession  of 
faith  when  they  entered  the  brotherhood  of  Christ, 
and  that  if  they  had  been  christened  in  infancy,  as 
was  true  of  most  people,  they  must  be  rebaptized. 
Because  some  of  the  Anabaptists  held  to  vagaries  of 
mystical,  millenarian,  and  antitrinitarian  theological 
opinions,  and  because  a  comparatively  few  were  led, 
as  at  Miinster,  into  extreme  social  revolutionary  ac- 
tions, all  of  them  were  harshly  condemned  without 
distinction.  The  peoples,  the  governments,  and  the 
churches  of  Europe,  without  exception,  despised  and 
hated  the  Anabaptists  and  treated  them  bitterly  and 
cruelly. 

It  is  from  the  descriptions  given  by  their  enemies 
that  we  have  practically  our  only  information  con- 
cerning  these   people.      Consequently   it   has   been 

38 


The  Anabaptist  Movement  39 

only  after  the  most  thorough  and  careful  investiga- 
tion that  scholars  have  more  or  less  recently  been 
able  to  appreciate  the  real  significance  of  this  im- 
portant movement.  Out  of  this  new  appreciation 
has  come  a  clear  distinction  between  the  very  radical 
groups  of  Anabaptists  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  hand  those  others  who  held  to  the  evangelical 
teaching  of  the  church  in  general,  and  yet  carried 
the  fundamental  principles  of  Protestantism  to  a 
farther  application  than  either  Lutheran  or  Re- 
formed Churches. 

The  Reformation  was,  religiously  speaking,  a 
fructifying  of  the  piety  of  the  Middle  Ages,  which 
came  to  revolt  against  the  corruptions  in  the  church. 
At  the  same  time,  the  Reformation  was  an  emphasis 
of  the  New  Testament  teaching  lying  at  the  basis 
of  this  piety.  As  the  Reformed  Churches  went  far- 
ther in  this  revolt  and  in  the  application  of  these 
teachings  than  Lutheranism,  so  Anabaptists  went 
farther  than  either.  One  of  the  reasons,  if  not  the 
supreme  reason,  for  this  advance  was  the  fact  that 
the  Anabaptist  movement  was  not  created,  though 
it  was  greatly  stimulated,  by  the  Reformation,  but 
had  been  developing  its  conceptions  for  a  long  while. 
Its  origin  may  be  traced  back  to  the  twelfth  century, 
for  it  was  connected  in  some  measure  with  those 
more  or  less  isolated  groups  of  people  who  were 
the  descendants  of  former  reformation  movements. 
The  preachers  in  these  earlier  movements  contended 
for  views  characteristic  of  the  Anabaptists.     The 


40  Positive  Protestantism 

Anabaptist  groups  were,  consequently,  a  more  or 
less  spontaneous  growth  from  previously  tilled  soil, 
and  however  divergent  the  several  groups  were 
from  one  another  in  some  respects,  all  maintained 
certain  fundamental  positions,  which  were  in  ad- 
vance of  the  other  Reformation  groups. 

The  Anabaptists  were  great  Bible  readers  and 
sought  to  reestablish  New  Testament  Christianity. 
Their  first  principle  was  to  go  to  the  Scripture  for 
guidance  in  all  matters  of  religion.  They  empha- 
sized especially  the  scriptural  injunctions  as  to 
charity  and  the  scriptural  standards  of  piety.  It 
was  also  upon  the  New  Testament  that  they  based 
their  other  principles. 

The  second  of  these  manifested  itself  in  an  opposi- 
tion to  everything  that  smacked  of  priestism,  with 
its  corollary  of  the  efficacy  of  the  ecclesiastical  insti- 
tution and  its  ceremonies  as  indispensable  to  salva- 
tion. They  believed  so  firmly  that  personal  faith 
is  the  basis  of  salvation  that  they  objected  thoroughly 
to  the  constitution  and  ceremonies  of  the  Roman 
Church.  They  insisted  that  public  worship  should 
be  conducted  in  the  vernacular  and  not  in  Latin. 
They  objected  to  all  church  festivals,  all  blessings 
of  buildings,  crosses,  and  candles;  and  scoffed  at 
excommunication,  indulgences,  and  dispensations. 
Holding  that  salvation  depended  on  faith,  they 
scouted  the  magical  efficacy  of  baptism,  and  refused 
to  baptize  infants  who  could  have  no  personal  faith. 
Immersion  was  practised  by  a  few  groups  as  being 


The  Anabaptist  Movement  41 

the  New  Testament  form.  The  Lord's  Supper  was 
a  memorial  meal  attended  with  spiritual  blessing  for 
those  who  had  real  faith.  The  elements  of  the  meal 
were  only  symbols  of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  sug- 
gestive of  his  death..  These  ceremonies  could  be 
performed  by  any  believer  on  the  authorization  of 
any  group  of  Christians,  since  ecclesiastical  control 
should  ,be  democratic.  Anabaptists  despised  a  hier- 
archy. The  people,  guided  by  the  Scripture  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  not  ecclesiastical  officials,  should 
govern  a  church.  Indeed,  in  all  things  the  Anabap- 
tists asserted  the  value  of  faith  and  denied  that  of 
priestism  and  ecclesiasticism. 

The  third  great  principle  of  the  Anabaptists  was 
an  insistence  upon  the  right  of  every  conscience  to 
be  free  from  both  ecclesiastical  and  civil  interfer- 
ence, and  the  consequent  necessity  of  a  separation 
between  Church  and  State.  This  principle  was  not 
favored  by  other  bodies  of  Christians,  and  its  ad- 
vocacy, especially  the  second  half  of  it,  brought  upon 
the  Anabaptists  the  hatred  and  persecution  of  every 
political  and  ecclesiastical  government  in  Europe 
without  exception.  The  Anabaptists  argued  from 
the  absence  of  connection  between  the  New  Testa- 
ment Church  and  the  State,  and  also  from  the  inner 
nature  of  faith  and  faith's  central  place  in  religion, 
that  neither  Church  nor  State  had  the  right  to  in- 
terfere with  the  individual's  conscience  or  to  use 
the  sword  against  men  on  account  of  their  religion. 
The   words   of  the   learned  Anabaptist   Hiibmaier 


42  Positive  Protestantism 

express  the  ideas  prevalent  among  his  fellow  re- 
ligionists :  "  My  body  and  my  goods  belong  to  the 
emperor,  but  my  soul  belongs  to  God."  "  If  a 
judge  commands  anything  contrary  to  God's  com- 
mands, then  we  must  obey  God  rather  than  man." 
"  I  cannot  be  a  heretic,  for  I  am  anxious  for  instruc- 
tion. Only  one  has  tried  to  convince  me  that  my 
views  are  false,  and  he  wished  to  call  in  the  hang- 
man to  assist  him."  In  this  great  principle  of  re- 
ligious freedom  and  of  separation  of  Church  and 
State,  Anabaptists  made  their  chief  contribution  to 
the  world. 

They  had  one  other  principle  which  they  es- 
poused in  spite  of  most  terrible  persecutions — the 
principle  of  non-resistance.  Coupled  with  this  was 
their  refusal  to  serve  as  public  servants. 

Anabaptist  teachings  were  carried  all  over  Europe 
by  missionaries  of  various  types.  Lay  preachers  es- 
pecially made  their  way  everywhere  and  won  great 
numbers  to  their  cause.  Anabaptist  groups  were  to 
be  found  as  far  north  as  Sweden,  as  far  south  as 
Italy,  as  far  west  as  England,  and  as  far  east  as 
Hungary  and  Poland.  They  found  their  chief  fol- 
lowing among  the  common  people,  though  they  in- 
cluded in  some  regions  some  noblemen  and  some 
men  of  letters.  A  type  of  the  latter  was  Hans 
Denck,  who  was  a  member  of  the  "  Erasmus  Circle  " 
and  a  man  of  rare  abilities  and  spirit.  Another 
learned  leader  was  Hubmaier,  with  whom  Zwingli 
once  agreed  that  infant  baptism  had  no  scriptural 


The  Anabaptist  Mozvment  43 

ground  and  should  not  be  practised  in  view  of 
Reformation  principles.^  The  movement  included 
also  many  other  learned  men,  so  that  the  Anabap- 
tists were  not  merely  the  "  ignorant  scum  of  Eu- 
rope "  as  they  have  been  called. 

Practically  all  of  the  leaders  of  the  movement, 
save  Menno  Simons,-  were  exterminated  in  the  in- 
tense persecutions  inflicted  upon  Anabaptists  every- 
where they  showed  their  position.  Hiibmaier,  for 
example,  was  imprisoned  by  Zwingli  himself,  to 
whom  he  had  fled  for  protection,  and  later  suc- 
cumbed in  prison.  Great  numbers  of  the  rank  and 
file  as  well  as  leaders  perished.  No  torture  was  too 
terrible  to  inflict.  A  contemporaneous  account  of 
the  persecutions  in  Moravia  says  :  "  Some  were  torn 
to  pieces  on  the  rack,  some  were  burned  to  ashes  and 
powder,  some  were  roasted  on  pillars,  some  were 
torn  with  red-hot  tongs,  some  were  shut  in  houses 
and  burned  in  masses,  some  were  hanged  on  trees, 
some  were  executed  with  the  sword,  some  were 
plunged  into  the  water,  many  had  gags  put  into 
their  mouths  so  that  they  could  not  speak,  and  were 
thus  led  away  to  death.  Like  sheep  and  lambs 
crowds  of  them  were  led  away  to  be  slaughtered  and 
butchered.  Others  were  starved  or  allowed  to  rot  in 
noisome  prisons.  Many  had  holes  burned  through 
their  backs  and  were  left  in  this  condition.     Like 

1  Later  Zwingli,  for  reasons  of  policy,  did  not  find  it  profitable  to 
espouse  the  Anabaptist  cause,   but  publicly  opposed  it. 

"  The  modern  Mennonites  take  their  name  from  this  leader,  and 
his  followers  greatly  influenced  the  beginnings  of  modern  Baptists. 


44  Positive  Protestantism 

owls  and  bitterns  they  dared  not  go  forth  by  day, 
but  Hved  and  crouched  in  rocks  and  caverns,  in  wild 
forests,  in  caves  and  pits.  Many  were  hunted  down 
with  hounds  and  catch-poles." 

In  spite  of  the  extermination  of  many  groups,  the 
Anabaptists  persisted,  and  their  great  influence  has 
been  handed  down  through  a  number  of  denomina- 
tions to  the  present. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   COUNTER-REFORMATION 

To  uncjerstand  the  full  sweep  of  the  Reformation 
account  must  be  taken  of  the  changes  wrought 
within  Romanism  itself  by  the  indirect  influence  of 
the  Reformers.  At  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  centuries,  practically 
every  one  outside  the  immediate  Roman  Curia  felt 
the  need  of  some  reformation  of  the  church.  All 
serious-minded  men  recognized  the  unreformed 
papacy  as  the  running  sore  of  Europe.^  Many  felt 
that  religion  must  be  rediscovered  for  the  individual 
conscience.  Statesmen  were  beginning  to  see  that 
some  way  must  be  found  to  subordinate  the  papal 
interests  to  secular  government,  for  the  absolutism 
of  the  pope  was  irksome,  not  only  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  but  also  in  many  secular  matters.  In  such  a 
situation  the  agitation  of  the  reformers  was  bound 
to  affect  Romanism  itself. 

The  first  stage  of  the  movement  within  the  church 
is  known  as  the  Catholic  Reformation,  because  it 
aimed  at  reuniting  all  the  branches  of  Protestant- 
ism with  Romanism  in  a  reformed  church.  It  had 
its  most  complete  expression  in   Spain.     Cardinal 

1  See  above,  page  13. 

45 


46  Positive  Protestantism 


Ximenes,  a  Franciscan  and  father  confessor  to  the 
Queen  Isabella,  was  able  with  the  cooperation  of 
Ferdinand  and  the  queen  to  accomplish  considerable. 
Through  visitation  of  monasteries  and  the  like,  and 
by  a  system  of  education,  he  raised  the  moral  tone 
of  the  clergy  and  reduced  their  ignorance.  Some 
need  of  an  accurate  translation  of  the  Scripture  was 
felt,  and  a  guarded  approval  to  the  laity's  use  of  the 
same  was  given.  The  aim  was  solely  the  quickening 
of  religious  life  within  the  limits  of  medievaHsm. 
The  movement  was  augmented  by  Luther's  influ- 
ence, and  some  leaders  hoped  he  would  prove  to  be 
the  instrument  for  reforming  the  entire  church. 
The  idea  of  the  movement  appealed  to  Pope  Adrian 
VI,  who  was  a  Dutch  Ximenes,  and  he  tried  to  apply 
the  Spanish  idea  of  a  reformation  to  the  entire 
church.  He  even  saw  the  validity  of  the  attack  upon 
indulgences,  but  soon  found  that  the  papacy  needed 
the  money  and  that  a  complete  reformation  of  the 
church  was  impossible.  But  results  in  Spain  were 
permanent. 

A  little  later  a  further  attempt  was  made  through 
certain  liberal  Italian  churchmen.  The  peasantry  of 
Italy  were  grossly  superstitious  and  had  little  sense 
of  the  need  of  reform.  But  the  people  in  the  towns 
and  cities  took  the  state  of  the  church  to  heart  and 
rallied  around  those  churchmen  who  sought  im- 
provement. The  work  of  Savonarola  at  Florence 
had  been  brought  to  an  end  by  his  martyrdom 
(1498) — a  tragedy  and  horror  unmitigated  by  any 


The  C oimter-Reformation  47 

consideration  of  justice,  morals,  or  religion.  De- 
spite the  discouragement  which  this  gave  to  reform- 
ers, there  were  pious  groups  of  people  in  Italy,  in- 
cluding some  of  the  nobility  and  high  ecclesiastical 
officials,  who  formed  loosely  organized  companies 
that  hoped  for  reform  and  who  met  to  discuss  the 
whole  situation.  The  Capuchin  monks,  a  branch  of 
the  Franciscan  order,  stirred  their  entire  society  to 
new  life,  and  by  their  public  preaching  aroused  a 
new  religious  vitality  among  the  people.  With  the 
accession  of  Paul  III  (1534)  to  the  papal  chair  a 
new  era  seemed  to  be  at  hand.  He  at  once  appointed 
several  liberals  as  cardinals  and  gave  liberals  great 
prominence  in  the  affairs  of  the  church.  A  con- 
ference with  Protestant  theologians  was  undertaken 
by  Cardinal  Contarini,  a  liberal  Romanist,  with  the 
purpose  of  bringing  about  a  reunion  of  Protestants 
and  Romanists.  The  conference  failed.  Contarini 
was  removed  from  the  center  of  affairs;  other 
liberal  leaders  died,  and  the  movement  for  a 
Catholic  Reformation  lapsed. 

Then  came  the  Counter-Reformation  proper, 
which  aimed  at  a  quickening  of  the  Romanist 
Church  alone.  This  came  under  the  influence  largely 
of  the  Jesuits,  whose  society  was  founded  by  Igna- 
tius Loyola. 

As  a  young  Spanish  nobleman,  Loyola  had  been 
so  severely  wounded  that  he  had  to  give  up  a  sol- 
dier's career.  He  determined  to  become  a  saint,  and 
entered  a  monastery.    In  regard  to  assurance  of  his 


Positive  Protestantism 


personal  salvation  he  had  an  experience  similar  in 
the  extreme  to  that  of  Luther.  Unable  to  find  peace 
of  mind  by  meeting  the  ecclesiastical  requirements, 
he  found  a  solution  of  his  problem  in  personal  trust 
in  God.  From  this  experience  he  turned,  probably 
under  the  influence  of  the  highly  emotional  tendency 
of  Spanish  Christianity,  to  varied  experiences  of 
mysticism.  Out  of  these  experiences  issued  his  fa- 
mous book,  "  Spiritual  Exercises,"  which  became  the 
soul  of  his  movement.  He  studied  also  the  condi- 
tions in  the  church,  and  after  long  deliberation 
picked  a  few  men  to  start  a  new  order.  He  estab- 
lished himself  with  his  companions  in  Italy,  and  ob- 
tained from  the  pope  a  bull  recognizing  the  Society 
of  Jesus.  (1540.)  The  order  grew  enormously,  and 
was  organized  into  a  matchless  fighting  machine 
with  a  mystical  enthusiasm,  possessing  a  military 
spirit  and  law,  and  governed  autocratically  by  the 
head  of  the  order. 

The  order  at  once  began  its  work  of  quickening 
the  church,  and  succeeded  in  greatly  reanimating 
Romanism.  By  this  work  and  its  foreign  missions 
for  which  it  became  famous;  by  its  attack  on  the 
waste  of  child  life,  the  curse  of  beggary,  and  the 
social  evil ;  by  its  educational  projects,  which  were 
of  great  number  and  were  instrumental  in  creating 
an  educated  clergy;  and  by  its  crusade  against  im- 
morality among  the  clergy,  the  order  became  even 
in  the  lifetime  of  Ignatius  the  most  powerful  force 
within  the  church.    By  its  power,  and  in  spite  of  the 


The  Counter-Reformation  49 

inherent  evils  residing  in  the  narrow  conception  of 
reHgion  held  by  its  founder,  the  Society  of  Jesus 
was  potent  in  carrying  through  the  Counter-Refor- 
mation. Indeed,  this  narrow  conception  of  religion 
as  consisting  in  blind  obedience  to  the  authority  of 
the  pope  was  both  its  strength  and  its  weakness. 
The  astute,  ruthless,  and  worldly  political  activities 
of  the  society  which  afterward  developed  are  not 
to  be  considered  here.  However  much  they  are  to 
be  condemned,  they  cannot  entirely  hide  from  a 
dispassionate  judgment  the  real  service  which  the 
Jesuits  rendered  Romanism  at  the  time  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  influence  of  the  Jesuits  was  strongly  felt  in 
the  Council  of  Trent,  which  was  a  powerful  element 
in  the  movement  of  strengthening  Romanism.  The 
leisurely  sessions  of  the  council  extended  periodi- 
cally from  1545  to  1563.  Since  its  members  were  of 
many  opinions,  the  council  could  not  escape  the  in- 
fluence of  both  Humanism  and  Lutheranism,  despite 
the  wish  of  the  majority  to  avoid  it.  Yet  it  went 
only  a  very  little  way  in  actually  reforming  the 
Roman  Church.  In  fact,  the  Roman  Curia  emerged 
from  the  council  with  a  wider  acceptance  than  be- 
fore of  the  comparatively  recently  claimed  su- 
premacy of  the  pope  over  councils.  In  this  result 
the  influence  of  the  Jesuits  was  plain,  as  it  was  also 
in  the  four  decrees  of  the  council  which  made  any 
reconciliation  with  Protestants  impossible.  The 
council  accepted  as  Scripture,  in  addition  to  the 

D 


50  Positive  Protestantism 

canon  of  the  Hebrew  Old  Testament,  also  the  books 
of  the  Septuagint  ^  Apocrypha.  This  was  done,  in 
spite  of  Saint  Jerome's  belittling  estimate  of  these 
apocryphal  books,  in  order  to  cut  from  under  the 
scriptural  arguments  of  Protestantism  by  supplying 
from  these  writings  passages  in  support  of  Roman- 
ist contentions  which  have  not  the  slightest  basis 
in  the  canonical  Scriptures.  The  council  also  de- 
clared that  it  "  received  with  an  equal  feeling  of 
piety  and  reverence  the  traditions  .  .  .  preserved  in 
continuous  succession  within  the  Catholic  Church," 
and  by  this  declaration  asserted  that  the  authority 
of  the  Scripture  was  equaled  by  that  of  an  infallible 
ecclesiastical  tradition.  Two  other  decrees  of  the 
council  were  that  the  Vulgate  Latin  version  of  the 
Bible  ^  was  an  authoritative  text  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture alongside  Greek  and  Hebrew  texts,  and  that 
every  faithful  believer  must  accept  the  Church's 
interpretation  of  Scripture.  From  the  point  of 
view  of  these  declarations  the  council  codified  the 
medieval  theology,  but  through  the  unconscious  in- 
fluence of  Protestantism  neglected  and  modified 
some  parts  of  it.  The  three  chief  results  of  the 
council's  actions  which  greatly  strengthened  Roman- 
ism were  the  furnishing  of  the  church  with  a  com- 
pact system  of  doctrine,  the  proposal  of  a  plan  of 

2  "  Septuagint  "  is  the  name  given  to  the  Alexandrine  Greek  trans- 
lation 9f  the  Hebrew  Old  Testament  and  apocryphal  books,  excluded 
by  ancient  Hebrew  scholars  from  the  Scripture  canon. 

3  Made  by  Saint  Jerome.  See  article  "  Bible,"  in  The  Interna- 
tional Encyclopedia. 


The  C oiinter-Reformation  51 

reformation  for  the  church,  and  provision  for  an 
educated  clergy. 

Two  other  features  of  the  Counter-Reformation 
were  the  Inquisition  and  the  Index.  The  purpose 
of  the  Inquisition  was  the  punishment  of  spiritual 
or  ecclesiastical  offenses  by  physical  pains  and 
penalties.  Such  a  policy  had  been  used  in  Europe 
from  time  immemorial,  and  its  validity  as  the 
method  of  treating  heretics  was  quite  universally 
accepted.  Reformed  and  Lutheran  communities 
also  used  it  in  differing  degrees  in  dealing  with  Ana- 
baptist and  other  heretics.  Calvin's  consent  to  the 
burning  of  the  Antitrinitarian  Servetus  was  in  ac- 
cord with  it.  Wherever  State  and  Church  acted 
jointly  in  dealing  with  heretics  in  that  day,  persecu- 
tion similar  to  that  of  the  Inquisition  was  inevitable. 
The  agency  of  persecution  employed  by  the  papacy 
was  "  The  Apostolic  Tribunal  for  the  Suppression 
of  Heresy,"  and  was  ordinarily  managed  by  the 
Dominican  and  Franciscan  orders. 

The  Inquisition  had  been  early  introduced  Into 
Spain  at  the  instigation  of  Torquemada,  the  queen's 
confessor,  in  order  to  overthrow  the  power  of  the 
Jews.  Under  this  relentless,  autocratic  man  of  piti- 
less zeal,  the  reluctance  of  Queen  Isabella  to  intro- 
duce the  Inquisition,  which  the  papal  desire  had  not 
been  able  to  remove,  was  overcome.  Once  permis- 
sion had  been  granted  by  the  sovereigns  of  Spain, 
the  holy  office  was  developed,  largely  in  indepen- 
dence of  papal  control,  into  the  most  diabolical  of 


52  Positive  Protestantism 

curses  to  Spain  and  to  Protestants  in  the  Low 
Countries.  Under  this  regime  no  loophole  was  left 
for  any  accused  to  escape.  It  is  calculated  that  dur- 
ing Torquemada's  eighteen  years  alone,  10,220  peo- 
ple were  burned  and  97,000  were  condemned  to  per- 
petual imprisonment  or  to  public  penitence.  In 
Italy,  as  early  as  1542,  Pope  Paul  III  introduced  the 
Inquisition  on  the  Spanish  model.  His  successors, 
with  even  more  determination,  carried  out  the  plan 
with  the  help  of  the  Jesuits.  Perhaps  because  there 
was  less  need,  the  Inquisition  in  Italy  never  showed 
quite  the  same  murderous  activities  and  savagery 
as  in  Spain. 

Perhaps  as  old  as  the  Inquisition  was  the  method 
of  destroying  the  seed  of  heresy  by  burning  books. 
In  the  Reformation  time  this  method  was  applied 
not  only  literally,  but  also  in  the  development  of  the 
Index  which,  after  the  Council  of  Trent,  was  the 
instrument  used  by  Romanism  to  destroy  the  influ- 
ence of  Protestant  literature.  But  this  instrument 
proved  as  ineffective  as  the  Inquisition.  It  had  a 
very  bad  reflex  result  for  the  learning  of  the  Roman 
Church  itself,  and  in  the  hands  of  improper  men 
worked  Rome  a  good  deal  of  harm.  Nevertheless, 
the  Index  has  been  used  down  to  to-day  in  an  at- 
tempt to  keep  Romanists  unacquainted  with  state- 
ments unwelcome  to  Rome. 

But  in  spite  of  the  ineffectiveness  on  the  whole 
of  these  terrible  and  destroying  instruments  of 
Rome,  Romanism  was  reanimated  largely  by  the 


The  Counter-Reformation  53 

new  spirit  of  the  Jesuits  and  by  their  secret  yet  ef- 
fective methods  of  winning  adherents  to  Rome. 
Thus  Romanism  came  again  to  be  a  fighting  organi- 
zation, and  won  back  some  of  the  territory  which  it 
had  lost  to  Protestantism. 


Part  11 

Protestant  Iff f irmations  of 
£bri$tian  Crutb 


CHAPTER  I 

AGREEMENTS   AND   DISAGREEMENTS 

The  term  "  Protestant "  may  be  used  with  greater 
or  less  strictness.  Strictly  speaking  the  Protestants 
were  those  who  had  a  share  in  presenting  at  the 
Diet  of  Speyer  (1529)  the  Protest  which  gave  rise 
to  the  name.  But  very  quickly  the  word  had  a 
wider  use  as  applying  to  all  of  the  followers  of 
Luther.  It  is  employed  to-day  in  this  country  to 
include  all  Christians  not  adherents  of  the  Roman 
or  Oriental  Catholic  Churches.  Such  a  wide  and 
loose  use  of  the  term  makes  it  well-nigh  impossible 
to  present  what  Protestantism  teaches.  Some  limi- 
tation is  absolutely  necessary.  For  the  present  pur- 
pose the  term  is  meant  to  include  all  communions 
which  naturally  would  be  included  on  account  of 
their  historical  origin  and  are  generally  regarded 
as  constituting  the  evangelical  denominations. 

A  still  further  limitation  is  necessary.  It  would 
be  possible  to  define  Protestant  teaching  by  an  ap- 
peal to  the  historic  written  creeds  of  various  Prot- 
estant bodies  and  to  the  writings  of  the  leading 
Protestant  theologians  of  the  Reformation  period, 
such  as  Luther,  Melancthon,  Zwingli,  and  Calvin, 
and  to  such  later  theological  writers  as  Arminius, 

57 


58  Positive  Protestantism 

Swedenborg,  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  others,  who 
are  responsible  for  new  trends  of  theological  think- 
ing.^ But  many  things  have  transpired  in  the 
world  since  the  older  Protestantism  was  formulated. 
New  modes  of  thought  and  new  views  of  the  world 
have  come  from  a  modern  spirit  and  method  of  in- 
vestigation which  are  in  part  due  to  the  Reforma- 
tion and  in  part  to  other  causes.  Moreover,  great 
advance  has  been  made  in  the  sciences  that  concern 
the  Bible,  theology,  and  the  history  of  the  church. 
These  facts  and  forces  have  had  a  deep  and  abid- 
ing influence  on  Protestant  Christianity.  Even  a 
Romanist  writing  to-day  cannot  address  himself 
merely  to  the  older  Protestantism,  but  has  quite  a 
different  situation  to  confront  him,  both  within  his 
own  communion  with  its  ultramontane  exaltation  of 
papal  authority  and  its  antagonism  to  Modernism, 
and  also  in  the  changed  Protestant  world.  Conse- 
quently, any  adequate  presentation  of  Protestant 
teaching  must  take  into  account  this  new  atmos- 
phere.- 

A  development  within  Protestantism  itself  has 
taken  place,  and  has  shown  a  tendency  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  principles  of  the  Anabaptists.     It  is 

1  Such  is  the  method  of  the  Romanist  theologian  Moehler,  whose 
book  "  Symbolism "  is  by  all  means  the  best  Romanist  theological 
discussion  of  the  differences  between  Protestantism  and  Rome. 
But  the  method  reveals  its  weakness  in  the  fact  that  a  great  deal  of 
Moehler's  criticism  is  pointless  against  present-day  Protestantism. 

2  The  religious  and  theological  literature  of  the  last  decade  or  two 
will  furnish  ample  corroboration  of  the  present  statement  as  a  fairly 
accurate  account  of  present-day  Protestant  affirmations  of  Christian 
teachings. 


'Agreements  and  Disagreefnenfs  59 

not  difficult  to  mark  the  trend  toward  non-sacra- 
mentarian  views  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  church, 
or  toward  the  actual  acceptance  and  even  espousal 
of  religious  liberty,  and  the  separation  of  Church 
and  State.  The  pietistic  features  of  the  Anabaptists 
have  also  found  advocates  in  later  denominational 
developments.  Likewise,  the  emphasis  on  a  mem- 
bership determined  by  real  and  personal  loyalty  to 
Christ,  rather  than  one  determined  by  inclusion  in 
the  state  or  by  infant  baptism,  has  come  to  be  the 
ideal  of  some  denominations,  which  still  practise  in- 
fant baptism  or  whose  European  connections  still 
adhere  to  state  churches.  The  consequent  situation 
in  this  country  is  a  very  different  one  from  that  in 
which  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  communions 
came  into  being  and  in  which  the  Anabaptists  were 
regarded  and  treated  with  the  greatest  hatred  by 
all  others. 

Between  the  modern  spirit  and  Protestantism  a 
certain  affinity  exists  inasmuch  as  the  modern  world 
is  in  part  a  result  of  the  Reformation.  For  exam- 
ple, the  modern  denial  of  the  absoluteness  of  ec- 
clesiastical authority  has  left  its  marks  even  within 
Romanism  itself  through  the  European  modernist 
movement.  The  exaltation  of  the  individual  and 
the  validity  of  private  judgment  in  so  many  of  the 
other  affairs  of  life  could  not  fail  to  affect  religion 
and  benefit  Protestantism.  Confidence  in  the  inher- 
ent worth  of  life  and  work,  issuing  in  a  transfer  of 
emphasis  from  a  future  to  the  present  world,  would 


6o  Positive  Protestantism 

be  expected  to  increase  the  importance  of  ethical 
considerations  and  thus  open  the  door  of  opportu- 
nity to  the  growing  tendency  of  Protestant  teaching 
to  appeal  to  the  ethical  sense  of  men.  This  relation 
of  Protestantism  and  the  modern  spirit  and  point 
of  view  requires  the  Protestant  affirmations  to  be 
stated,  not  as  they  might  have  been  set  forth  in  the 
days  of  the  Reformation,  but  according  to  the  pres- 
ent situation. 

Now  the  Protestant  affirmations  as  such  do  not 
affect  all  Christian  doctrines.  As  to  many  Chris- 
tian conceptions  no  wide  difference  exists  between 
Romanism  and  Protestantism.  Allowing  for  varie- 
ties of  explanation,  Protestantism  may  be  said  to 
accept  those  ideas  which  were  affirmed  by  the  first 
four  general  councils  of  the  early  church — ideas 
summarized  perhaps  in  the  Apostles',  the  Nicene, 
and  the  Athanasian  creeds.  Though  Protestants  do 
not  recognize  the  infallible  or  other  authority  of 
councils  to  determine  the  teachings  of  the  Scrip- 
ture, they  can  nevertheless  hold  to  the  essential  re- 
ligious ideas  of  the  historic  creeds  while  insisting 
that  their  statements  must  be  adjusted  to  the  mod- 
ern world  and  its  modes  of  thought. 

Among  the  conceptions  upon  which  agreement  is 
to  be  had,  is  one  of  particular  importance  for  this 
discussion  because  it  leads  directly  to  the  considera- 
tion of  differences,  namely,  the  conception  that  man 
is  in  deep  need  of  God,  and  without  him  can- 
not possibly  realize  the  fullest  life  here  and  here- 


Agreements  and  Disagreements  6i 

after.  Romanist  and  Protestant  theologians  have 
discussed  with  most  minute  theological  refinements 
the  theories  underlying  this  statement  of  man's  need 
for  God  and  man's  moral  and  religious  impotence 
without  God.  But  for  the  purposes  of  a  practical 
understanding  of  the  Christian  gospel  it  is  not 
necessary  to  enter  into  these  discussions.  Only  the 
matters  of  main  importance  need  be  set  forth. 
These  concern  the  meeting  of  man's  need  by  God. 

The  fundamental  differences  are  but  two,  pro- 
vided that  the  theological  discussion  of  the  relation 
of  justification  and  sanctificatlon  is  put  aside.  It  is 
sufficient  for  practical  religious  purposes  to  state 
that  the  points  of  difference  in  that  discussion  have 
quite  entirely  to  do  with  the  theological  definition 
of  terms  and  the  delimiting  of  psychological  relig- 
ious processes.  Since  both  Romanist  and  Prot- 
estant theologians  hold  that  God's  true  children  are 
both  justified  and  sanctified  by  him,  it  is  not  of  the 
greatest  importance  whether  these  terms  refer  to  an 
identical  process  or  whether  justification  is  to  be 
considered  a  separate  act  of  God  followed  by  the 
process  of  sanctification.  The  ethical  side  of  the 
argument  as  presented  by  such  a  Romanist  as 
Moehler  ^  would  be  entirely  in  accord  with  modern 
Protestant  views  of  justification.  This  fact  would 
of  itself  be  sufficient  warrant  for  setting  aside  the 
discussion   of   the   doctrine   of   justification.     And 

2  See    Moehler's    "  Symbolism "    (translated    by   J.    B.    Robertson, 
London,  1906)  in  the  discussion  of  Justification. 


^2  Positive  Protestantism 

again,  since  such  an  argument  as  Moehler's  comes 
later  to  rest  entirely  upon  the  Romanist  view  of  the 
sacraments  as  the  source  of  the  grace  which  justifies 
and  sanctifies,  all  that  is  pertinent  can  be  considered 
in  connection  with  the  discussion  of  one  of  the  main 
differences  between  Protestantism  and  Romanism. 
One  of  the  two  remaining  differences  concerns 
the  function  and  authority  of  the  church.  The  other 
affects  the  conception  of  the  method  by  which  God's 
grace  is  brought  to  the  saving  of  men.  Even  here 
the  difference  lies  in  the  realm  of  the  explanation 
of  certain  religious  facts  and  phenomena  which  both 
Romanists  and  Protestants  recognize;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, the  fact  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Saviour  and 
Lord  through  whom  men  come  to  God.  The  im- 
portance of  the  differences  lies  in  the  fact  that  these 
explanations  are  made  regulative  of  religious  life 
and  so  become  the  determining  elements  of  religion. 
They  must,  therefore,  be  thoroughly  understood. 
Historically  Luther  came  first  to  the  question  of  the 
method  of  salvation  and  only  to  the  other  question 
of  the  church  and  its  authority  after  it  had  been 
inevitably  raised  by  his  earlier  statements  and  activi- 
ties. The  course  of  thought  will  follow  this  order, 
but  will  approach  one  of  the  questions  from  two 
points  of  view,  since  the  Protestant  conception  of 
the  method  of  salvation  contrasts  with  two  distinct 
view-points  held  by  Romanism.  One  of  these  is 
legalism,  or  the  securing  of  salvation  by  conform- 
ing to  the  requirements  of  a  definitely  stated  set 


Agreements  and  Disagreements  63 

of  laws.  The  other  is  sacramentalism,  or  salvation 
mediated  through  a  priestly  order  possessing  spe- 
cial divine  powers  and  by  divinely  appointed  cere- 
monies which  are  the  only  vehicle  of  the  grace 
of  God  that  enables  men  to  come  unto  him  and  to 
live  a  life  of  which  he  approves.  Each  of  these 
contrasts  will  be  discussed  in  successive  chapters. 
Then  will  be  presented  the  Protestant  conception 
of  the  church's  function  and  religious  authority  in 
contradistinction  to  the  Romanist  ideas. 

Inevitably  Protestant  principles  lead  to  a  con- 
demnation of  certain  elements  of  Romanism  as  use- 
less excrescences.  They  must  also  lead  to  evaluat- 
ing as  valid  certain  conceptions  and  applications 
occasioned  by  Christianity's  contact  with  civilization 
as  a  whole.  These  condemnations  and  evaluations 
will  also  be  noted  in  a  special  chapter  as  negative 
and  positive  implications  of  Protestantism. 


CHAPTER  II 

salvation:  by  faith  or  law? 

One  of  the  world-old  religious  questions  is  that 
which  troubled  Luther,  *'  How  can  a  man  be 
saved  ?  "  Christianity  conceives  that  all  men  are 
sinful  except  so  far  as  they  are  saved  from  that 
condition  by  God,  who  not  only  rescues  men  from 
the  menacing  results  of  their  sins,  but  also  saves 
them  from  the  very  grip  of  the  tendency  to  sin, 
that  is,  makes  them  capable  of  resisting  evil  and 
accomplishing  a  Christian  life.  Men  are  saved  to  a 
life  with  God  and  to  all  that  such  a  life  involves, 
both  here  and  hereafter.  Nothing  in  Protestantism 
or  Romanism  disagrees  essentially  with  these  state- 
ments. The  important  difference  arises  as  to  the 
basis  on  which  God  is  conceived  as  proceeding  to 
save  men  and  the  means  by  which  he  cooperates 
with  them  in  the  achievement  of  a  Christian  life. 

Protestantism  teaches  that  God  is  willing  to  for- 
give sin  in  view  of  men's  faith  and  to  treat  all  re- 
pentant men  as  a  father  treats  a  repentant  child. 
Salvation  is  a  two-sided  process  in  which  God  acts 
with  the  really  fundamental  power  and  man  acts 
out  of  the  really  necessary  and  potential  motives. 
The  essential  attitude  of  men  is  their  faith,  that  is, 

64 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Law?  65 

their  devoted  reliance  on  God's  readiness  to  save. 
A  man  has  only  to  recognize  his  sinfulness  and  need 
of  God,  to  trust  confidently  in  God  and  his  power 
and  willingness  to  save,  to  repudiate  sin,  and  to 
choose  God's  standard  of  life.  When  such  an  atti- 
tude is  taken  through  faith  in  Jesus  the  Christ,  who 
revealed  God  and  his  gospel,  then  God  is  willing 
to  disregard  a  man's  lack  of  an  actually  complete 
righteotis  life  and  to  cooperate  through  personal 
communion  with  the  man  in  the  achievement  of  sal- 
vation. In  other  words,  a  man  comes  into  com- 
munion with  God  and  continues  in  that  relation 
through  his  devoted  reliance  on  God.  This  sharing 
in  God's  life  here  gives  assurance  of  life  hereafter. 
This  is  plainly  the  conception  which  is  presented 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  directly  to  the  New  Tes- 
tament Protestantism  sends  every  inquirer  after  the 
truth.  In  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  Jesus 
presents  God's  fatherly  willingness  to  forgive  sin- 
ners in  contrast  to  the  legalistic  conceptions  of  the 
Pharisees,  for  the  father  in  the  parable,  who  is  over- 
joyed to  regain  a  lost  son,  is  a  figure  of  God.  Most 
significant  is  the  omission  of  reference  to  any  other 
condition  of  accepting  the  son  than  that  of  the  re- 
pentant, submissive,  and  trusting  attitude  displayed 
by  the  prodigal.  Indeed,  Jesus'  constant  use  of  the 
name  "  Father  "  for  God  is  a  supreme  emphasis  on 
this  conception,  which  contrasted  so  strongly  with 
the  popularly  current  legalistic  and  ceremonial  ideas 
of  his  time.    To  the  plain  teaching  of  this  parable 


66  Positive  Protestantism 

may  be  added  the  implication  of  Jesus'  description 
of  the  last  great  judgment,  in  which  he  gives  his 
only  definition,  intended  as  such,  of  the  condition 
of  entrance  into  the  heavenly  kingdom.  In  this 
description  the  sheep  are  separated  from  the  goats 
not  on  a  theological,  ceremonial,  or  legalistic  basis, 
but  on  the  simple  ground  that  the  sheep  by  their 
daily  life  in  its  commonest  affairs  displayed  an  atti- 
tude toward  the  King  which  leads  him  to  count 
them  as  his  own.  The  central  importance  of  the 
inner  disposition  to  loyal  service  of  the  King  is  made 
still  plainer  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Though 
denying  any  intention  of  destroying  the  law  and 
asserting  that  he  has  come  to  fulfil  the  law's  mean- 
ing,  Jesus  contrasts  (Matt.  5)  his  understanding  of 
the  law  with  that  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees.  He 
makes  the  point  of  the  contrast  turn  precisely  upon 
the  idea  that  the  inner  motive  is  what  determines 
in  the  sight  of  God  the  ultimate  significance  of  any 
acts  with  which  the  law  deals.  The  condition  upon 
which  God  judges  men  favorably,  then,  is  such  an 
inward  attitude  as  that  of  the  returning  prodigal  or 
the  giver  of  a  cup  of  cold  water.  The  case  of  the 
woman  taken  in  adultery  is  also  pertinent.  Here 
is  one  actually  caught  in  open  violation  of  a  law  of 
first  importance.  Yet,  because  of  the  very  attitude 
which  the  woman  took  in  her  shame,  Jesus  said: 
"  Neither  do  I  condemn  thee ;  go,  and  sin  no  more." 
Forgiveness  was  granted  in  view  of  her  shown  re- 
pentance and  on  condition  that  she  go  forth  with 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Law: 


the  purpose  to  live  better.    The  inner  attitude  thus 
referred  to  is  what  Protestantism  calls  faith. 

Paul  continued  Jesus'  teaching,  and  brings  faith 
into  even  greater  contrast  with  the  law  as  a  means 
of  securing  salvation.  "  Yet  knowing  that  man  is 
not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law,  but  through 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  even  we  believed  in  Christ 
Jesus,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith  in  Christ, 
and  not  by  works  of  the  law;  for  by  the  works  of 
the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified"  (Gal.  2  :  16). 
This  statement  is  perfectly  plain,  since  Paul  means 
by  the  word  "  justified  "  to  indicate  that  state  in 
which  a  man  is  declared  or  regarded  as  no  longer 
under  condemnation  for  his  lack  of  actual  right- 
eousness. The  same  teaching  is  plainly  stated  also 
in  the  following :  "  Now  apart  from  the  law,  a 
righteousness  of  God  (i.  e.,  a  way  of  righteousness 
approved  by  God)  hath  been  manifested,  being  wit- 
nessed by  the  law  and  the  prophets ;  even  the  right- 
eousness of  God  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  unto 
all  them  that  believe ;  for  there  is  no  distinction ; 
for  all  have  sinned,  and  fall  short  of  the  glory  ^  of 
God ;  being  justified  freely  by  his  grace  -  through 
the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus:  whom  God 
set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation,  through  faith,  in  his 
blood,  to  show  his  righteousness  because  of  the  pass- 
ing over  of  sins  done  aforetime,  in  the  forbearancCj 
of  God;  for  the  showing,  I  say,  of  his  righteous- 


^  That  is,  of  winning  God's  approval. 

*  That  is,  without  cost  to  the  man  justified. 


68  Positive  Protestantism 

ness  at  this  present  season:  that  he  might  himself 
be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  that  hath  faith  in 
Jesus"  (Rom.  3  :  21-26).  Certainly  nothing  fur- 
ther need  be  quoted  from  the  many  passages  in 
Paul's  letters  to  show  that  he  regarded  faith  in  Jesus 
as  the  basis  on  which  God  is  willing  to  deal  with 
his  sinful  children. 

But  this  simple  and  plain  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament  is  not  sufficient  for  Romanism.  It 
holds  that  the  first  step  of  the  estranged  man  in 
coming  again  into  right  relations  with  God  is 
the  formal  intellectual  acceptance  of  the  church's 
dogmatic  teachings ;  then,  that  renewal  of  life  comes 
through  the  application  of  the  sacraments,  especially 
baptism,  which  washes  away  the  man's  original  sin ; 
and  further,  that  the  continuance  in  and  fuller  reali- 
zation of  this  life  is  possible  only  through  the  sacra- 
ments and  the  merit  attained  by  meeting  the  re- 
quirements or  laws  of  the  church.  The  contrast  of 
faith  and  sacraments  as  means  of  salvation  is  to  be 
discussed  in  the  next  chapter,  that  of  faith  and  law 
"here.  But  it  must  be  constantly  remembered  that, 
though  for  the  sake  of  clarity  we  treat  Romanist 
sacramental  and  legalistic  ideas  separately,  they  fre- 
quently merge  in  Romanist  thought  and  are  often 
connected  with  the  same  religious  practices  as,  for 
example,  the  penalties  in  penance  are  both  legalistic 
and  sacramental. 

Rome  insists  that  works  are  meritorious.  Ac- 
cording to  this  conception  certain  deeds  done  be- 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Law?  69 

cause  of  the  command  or  advice  of  the  church  have 
a  value  for  salvation.  Such  deeds  are  prayers,  fasts, 
gifts  for  church  building  and  the  like,  on  up  to  mo- 
nastic vows  and  practices.^  These  deeds  do  not  de- 
pend for  their  value  upon  the  inner  Christian  dis- 
position, but  possess  saving  v^orth  without  it.  By 
performing  them  one  may  secure  a  sort  of  bank 
credit  of  meritoriousness  which  may  be  cashed  in 
actual  saving  merit  from  the  infinite  treasury  laid 
up  by  Christ.  The  article  "  Merit  "  in  the  Catholic 
Encyclopedia  says :  "  It  is  a  defined  article  of  the 
Catholic  Faith  that  man  in,  before,  and  after  justi- 
fication derives  his  whole  capability  of  meriting  and 
satisfying,  as  well  as  his  actual  merits  and  satisfac- 
tions, solely  from  the  infinite  treasure  of  merits 
which  Christ  gained  for  us  on  the  cross."  This 
mechanical  and,  so  to  speak,  commercial  conception 
is  carried  so  far  that  it  is  believed  men  may  do 
more  than  is  required  of  them  and  so  gain  a  surplus 
of  merits  which  may  be  transferred  to  some  one  else 
in  more  need  of  them,  whether  the  person  be  living 
or  in  purgatory.  Deeds  securing  this  surplus  are 
works  of  supererogation.     With  reference  to  these 

^  The  ethical  value  of  Moehler's  argument  concerning  the  relation 
of  good  works  to  justification  was  possible  for  him  chiefly  because 
he  distinctly  set  outside  of  his  discussion  all  reference  to  "  eccle- 
siastical ceremonies,  external  rites,  and  the  like"  (p.  157),  and  con- 
fined his  consideration  entirely  to  the  good  works  required  by  Chris- 
tian ethical  teachings.  He  does  not  in  that  argument  address  him- 
self to  that  phase  of  the  question  which  Protestant  discussions  treat 
and  which  was  the  heart  of  Luther's  controversy  in  this  matter.  It 
is  against  the  saving  efficacy  of  such  meritorious  works  as  those 
excluded  by  Moehler  that  the  Protestant  teaching  is  directed,  and 
not  against  the  ethical  value  and  necessity  of  those  acts  included  in 
a  practical  Christian  life  based  on  faith. 


70  Positive  Protestantism 

the  article  just  quoted  says :  **  The  possibiHty  of  this 
transferal  rests  on  the  fact  that  the  residual  punish- 
ments for  sin  are  in  the  nature  of  a  debt  which  may 
be  legitimately  paid  to  the  creditor  and  thereby 
canceled,  not  only  by  the  debtor  himself,  but  also 
by  a  friend  of  the  debtor."  No  legalistic  concep- 
tion of  the  Pharisees  was  more  mechanical  than  this 
teaching  of  Romanism,  and  none  was  quite  so  com- 
mercial and  utterly  lacking  in  ethical  foundation.* 

Protestantism  urges  against  the  Romanist  legal- 
istic conception  several  convincing  objections.  In 
view  of  the  New  Testament  teaching,  Protestantism 
regards  it  as  self-evident  that  mere  external,  me- 
chanical deeds,  without  the  inner  disposition  to  do 
them,  can  have  no  significance  for  religion  and 
morals.  Even  if  the  Scripture  is  disregarded,  it  is 
equally  self-evident  to  a  heart  and  mind  of  real  piety, 
since  morality  is  based  in  personal  volition,  that  such 
a  thing  as  buying  indulgences  cannot  help  in  a  moral 
matter,  even  when  the  buyer  has  given  formal  in- 
tellectual assent  to  the  dogmas  of  the  church.  Prot- 
estantism is  willing  to  rest  its  case  with  the  appeal 
to  the  moral  and  religious  sense  of  men  who  have 
read  the  New  Testament  with  a  desire  to  find  God. 

The  tendency  of  the  practice  of  meritorious  works 
to  issue  in  superstition  is  so  inherent  that  the  Coun- 
cil of  Trent,  after  admonishing  all  bishops  to  give 
instruction  concerning  the  veneration  and  invoca- 
tion of  saints,  the  honor  to  be  paid  relics,  and  the 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  2,  for  Romanist  modifications  of  this  idea. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Law?  yi 

use  of  images,  found  it  necessary  to  warn  against 
the  connected  abuses  and  used  with  reference  to 
these  things  such  terms  as  "  superstition,"  "  filthy 
lucre,"  "  lasciviousness,"  "  revelings  and  drunken- 
ness," and  "  luxury  and  wantonness."  As  Harnack, 
the  great  German  historian,  says :  "  Since  the  end 
of  the  second  century  there  has  always  been  a  kind 
of  side-religion,  a  subterranean  religion  of  the  sec- 
ond order,  varying  according  to  the  differences  of 
the  peoples,  but  everywhere  alike  in  its  gross  super- 
stitions, its  naive  docetism,  its  dualism  and  poly- 
theism. .  .  It  is  the  worship  of  angels  (demi- 
gods) and  demons,  the  high  valuation  of  pictures, 
relics,  and  amulets,  a  weaker  or  stronger  enthusiasm 
for  the  severest  asceticism  (whence  also  dualistic 
conceptions),  and  the  anxious  observance  of  certain 
words,  signs,  rites,  ceremonies,  places,  and  times 
which  are  regarded  as  holy."  History  shows,  and 
the  Council  of  Trent  implicitly  admits,  that  the 
practice  of  meritorious  works  inevitably  runs  off 
into  this  side-religion.  It  is  in  part  on  this  account 
that  Protestantism  rejects  the  whole  conception  of 
meritorious  works. 

Supererogation,  a  development  from  the  Roman- 
ist doctrine  of  good  works,  is  especially  offensive 
to  the  moral  sense.  Rome  teaches  that  it  is  possible 
to  do  more  than  one's  required  duty  to  God  and 
thus  to  win,  especially  through  monastic  vows,  a 
surplus  of  merit  which  may  be  transferred  to  others. 
This  teaching  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the 


72  Positive  Protestantism 

incident  of  Jesus  and  the  rich  young  man.  (Matt. 
19  :  16-23.)  But  Jesus  merely  presented  here  the 
ideal  of  positive  achievement  in  contrast  to  mere 
negative  conformity  to  the  law,  and  tested  the  rela- 
tive devotion  of  the  young  man  to  his  riches  and 
to  the  work  of  cooperating  in  Jesus'  itinerant  evan- 
gelism in  which  the  care  of  rich  possessions  would 
have  been  a  positive  hindrance  to  the  young  man's 
effectiveness.  In  this  incident  none  but  the  pos- 
sessor of  such  a  special  interpreting  power  as  Rome 
claims  could  ever  find  the  doctrine  of  works  of 
supererogation.  Protestantism  is  willing  to  leave 
the  interpretation  to  ordinary  intelligence.  But  it 
urges  in  addition  to  this  lack  of  real  scriptural  sup- 
port that  a  transfer  of  moral  values  is  quite  outside 
the  realm  of  real  morality,  which  is  the  sphere  of 
personal  volitions.  Moral  worth  is  not  a  commod- 
ity to  be  dispensed  on  the  presentation  of  a  due  bill, 
so  to  speak,  on  behalf  of  some  one  else.  Protestant- 
ism also  maintains  that  one  can  never  do  more  than 
his  full  duty  to  God.  However  nearly  men  ap- 
proach perfection,  they  have  only  drawn  near  to  full 
realization  of  their  own  duty  to  God.  How,  then, 
can  one  do  more  than  enough  and  merit  surplus 
credit?  Consequently,  Protestantism  repudiates 
meritorious  works  because  of  this  connected  idea 
of  supererogation.^ 

Even  were  supererogation  valid,  there  is  no  intel- 

^  For  the  actual  place  of  supererogatory  ideas  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment time  and  later,  see  Smith,  Burton  and  Smith,  "  Biblical  Ideas 
of  Atonement,"  pp.  76-90. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Law?  73 

ligent  basis  for  holding  that  monastic  vows  of  pov- 
erty, celibacy,  and  obedience  could  accomplish  a  sur- 
plus of  merit  with  God.  Poverty  in  itself  is  no 
virtue,  and  in  the  better  monastic  ideal  is  simply 
a  means  to  unhampered  religious  devotion.  In  view 
of  the  inevitable  accumulation  of  riches  on  the  part 
of  the  monasteries,  monastic  poverty  seems  a  very 
strange  realization  of  this  ideal.  Moreover,  celibacy 
is  certainly  not  a  higher  ideal  for  human  beings 
than  fatherhood  and  motherhood,  unless  the  sex 
relation  is  inherently  evil  and  the  task  of  peopling 
the  world  unacceptable  to  God.  Again,  how  is 
obedience  to  an  ecclesiastical  official  an  addition  to 
the  fulfilling  of  the  whole  duty  to  God?  Even  if 
such  obedience  is  regarded  as  a  divinely  appointed 
duty,  it  cannot  for  that  very  reason  be  conceived 
as  outside  of  the  required  duty  to  God.  Accord- 
ingly, monastic  vows  offer  no  opportunity  for  extra 
credit  with  God,  and  this  conclusion  strengthens  the 
Protestant  contention. 

But  the  fundamental  reason  why  Protestants  re- 
ject the  teaching  concerning  good  works  is  that  it 
is  of  a  piece  with  the  legalistic  conception  of  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees  which  both  Jesus  and  Paul 
attacked  so  vigorously.  The  Pharisees  conceived 
that  salvation  was  to  be  attained  by  understanding 
and  applying  the  law — in  their  case  the  Old  Testa- 
ment law — according  to  the  authoritative  interpre- 
tations and  definitions  of  the  fathers  (noted  rabbis). 
If  one  failed  to  secure  sufficient  credit  by  punctilious 


74  Positive  Protestantism 

observance  of  the  law  thus  interpreted,  he  could 
fall  back  on  his  Abrahamic  descent  for  a  privileged 
treatment  by  God.  So  Romanism  conceives  that  a 
man  must  obey  the  requirements  and  the  advice  of 
the  church  in  accordance  with  the  authoritative  tra- 
dition of  the  Church  Fathers.  If  one  lacks  power 
to  achieve  sufficient  merit,  one  falls  back  upon  the 
sacramental  grace  dispensed  by  the  church. 

The  two  systems  have  the  same  appeal  to  an  ex- 
ternal authority  and  the  same  subtle  hair-splitting 
refinements  of  definitions.  These  two  features  are 
both  illustrated  by  the  distinction  made  between 
venial  sins,  which  are  easily  pardoned,  and  mortal 
sins,  which  are  forgiven  with  greater  difficulty. 
Another  distinction  is  made  in  the  terms  "  latria," 
worship  of  God,  "  dulia  "  (literally  service),  adora- 
tion of  the  saints,  and  "  hyperdulia,"  superad- 
oration  of  Mary.  Psychologically  and  practically 
such  distinctions  are  impossible,  and  reflect  only  a 
difference  in  words,  not  in  the  actual  attitudes  of 
worship.  According  to  Coppens,  the  first  law  of  the 
church  requires  attendance  at  mass  on  Sunday. 
Application  of  this  law  necessitates  defining  what 
constitutes  attendance,  and  so  how  late  one  may 
arrive  at  mass  and  still  comply  with  the  law. 
Coppens  declares  (p.  321)  it  to  be  a  mortal  sin  "  to 
miss  the  elevation,  or  communion,  or  to  arrive  after 
the  offertory."  Again,  the  Roman  Missal  refers  to 
the  "  defects  "  occurring  in  the  celebration  of  the 
mass.    A  rule  given  there  requires  the  swallowing 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Law?  75 

of  the  wine  even  if  a  fly  or  spider  has  fallen  into  it, 
and  another  regulation  makes  it  necessary  for  the 
priest,  who  may  have  vomited  the  bread  and  wine,  to 
reswallow  the  same  if  the  elements  can  be  distin- 
guished in  the  vomit.  All  of  this  defining  is  in  the 
spirit  of  the  pharisaic  rabbis.  The  two  systems  are 
also  alike  in  the  self-righteousness  which  they  en- 
gender, ,  for  Romanists  must  believe  that  they  are 
the  privileged  of  God  since  salvation  comes  only 
through  Rome. 

Jesus'  condemnation  of  such  legalism  is  particu- 
larly virile  and  incisive.  In  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  he  contrasted  his  conception  of  the  internal 
nature  of  righteousness  with  pharisaic  conformity 
to  the  traditional  oral  law.  Elsewhere,  immediately 
after  a  condemnation  of  pharisaic  interpretative  ob- 
scuring of  the  law,  Jesus  said  the  Pharisees  would 
compass  sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte  and 
then  would  make  him  twofold  more  a  son  of  hell 
than  they  themselves  were.  (Matt.  23  :  15.)  A  still 
more  scathing  condemnation  is  given  in  the  utter- 
ance :  "  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo- 
crites !  for  ye  tithe  mint  and  anise  and  cummin, 
and  have  left  undone  the  weightier  matters  of  the 
law,  justice,  mercy,  and  faith :  but  these  ye  ought 
to  have  done,  and  not  to  have  left  the  other  un- 
done"  (Matt.  23  :  23).  Recognizing  the  proper 
function  of  the  law,  Jesus  put  the  heart  of  its  ob- 
servance in  the  inner  attitude  of  justice,  mercy,  and 
faith.    In  the  incident  of  the  Pharisee  and  the  publi- 


y(i  Positive  Protestantism 

can  there  is  also  a  specially  apt  condemnation  of 
legalism  and  the  self-righteousness  which  flows 
from  it.  (Luke  i8  :  10-14.)®  Nothing  is  plainer  in 
the  New  Testament  than  this  condemnation  by 
Jesus  of  Pharisaic  legalism  which  is  so  similar  to 
that  of  Roman  Catholicism. 

Paul  extensively  condemns  legalism  in  his  teach- 
ing that  salvation  comes  apart  from  the  law.*^  Two 
incidents  from  the  New  Testament  give  this  teach- 
ing special  significance  for  the  present  discussion. 
When  certain  self-appointed  guardians  of  Jewish 
Christianity  came  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch, 
where  the  church  included  a  considerable  number 
of  Gentiles,  they  raised  the  question  of  the  validity 
of  a  Jew's  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper  with  an 
uncircumcised  man.  It  was  unlawful  for  a  Jew  to 
eat  with  such.  Peter  had  been  at  Antioch,  and  had 
been  following  the  custom  of  the  church  without 
hesitation.  But  now,  for  fear  of  the  Judaizing 
brethren  from  Jerusalem,  he  cowardly  refused  to 
eat.  But  Paul  at  once  opposed  Peter  to  his  face, 
as  he  tells  us,  and  asserted  that  obedience  to  the 
law  was  not  necessary  as  an  addition  to  faith  as  a 
basis  for  coming  into  and  maintaining  right  rela- 
tions with  God.  Later,  at  a  friendly  conference  in 
Jerusalem,  where  James  and  Peter  and  Paul  were 
present,  a  compromise  was  agreed  upon  whereby 

*  Gjmpare  this  with  the  following  Romanist  statement,  "  I  chastise 
myself,  but  I  count  the  strokes  and  am  proud  of  their  number " 
(Bishop  Wittman,  quoted  by  Von  Hase,  p.  33). 

"f  See  above,  pp.  67,  68. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Law?  yj 

Paul  was  to  continue  his  evangelization  among  the 
Gentiles  while  the  Jewish  regions  of  the  world  were 
to  be  left  to  the  evangelizing  efforts  of  Peter  and 
those  others  who  more  or  less  desired  to  perpetuate 
legalistic  ideas  and  practices.  The  Judaistic  Chris- 
tianity of  these  latter  disappeared  after  a  short 
period  simply  because  it  was  so  completely  out  of 
harmony  with  the  essential  teaching  of  Christ. 
Paul's  gospel,  agreeing  with  the  teaching  of  Jesus, 
remained  dominant  (even  Peter  was  afterward 
completely  won  to  it)  until  a  new  legalism  crept 
into  the  church  through  the  doctrine  of  meritorious 
works.  Accordingly,  it  is  plain  that  Paul  con- 
demned legalism,  and  that  too  in  spite  of  Peter,  by 
whom  Rome  sets  so  great  store. 

This  New  Testament  condemnation  and  the  other 
objections  urged  above  are  conclusive  for  the  re- 
jection of  Romanist  legalism.  But  Protestantism 
does  not  rest  in  mere  rejection,  for  it  proceeds  to 
show  the  real  relation  of  good  works  to  faith.  In 
order  to  estimate  adequately  this  relation  the  nature 
of  faith  must  be  imderstood.  A  difference  in  the 
definition  of  faith  is  partly,  though  not  entirely,  re- 
sponsible for  the  differences  between  the  Protestant 
and  Romanist  conceptions.  According  to  Roman- 
ism, faith  is  the  intellectual  acceptance  as  true  of 
what  the  church  declares  to  be  true.^  Moehler 
says  that  *'  recognition  of  the  truths  revealed  in 
Christ  ...  is  faith  in  the  ordinary  Catholic  sense  " 

^  For  further  statements  of  Romanists,  see  Appendix,  Note  3, 


7^  Positive  Protestantism 

(p.  137).  The  authoritative  teaching  of  the  Roman 
Church  compels  such  a  statement,  though  the  more 
scriptural  conception  of  faith  was  not  without  ex- 
pression in  the  medieval  times. 

Protestantism  considers  faith  to  be  much  more 
than  an  assent  to  dogmas.  In  the  usage  of  the  New 
Testament  "  faith  "  has  an  intellectual  element,  but 
the  chief  feature  of  it  is  volitional.  Faith  involves 
acting  on  the  basis  of  what  one  believes  to  be  true. 
It  is  the  choice  of  God's  way  in  view  of  the  truths 
in  which  one  can  believe  and  on  the  basis  of  which 
he  is  willing  to  act,  and  this  choice  arises  out  of 
confidence  in  God  and  in  the  truth  concerning  him. 
This  choice  and  confidence  imply  love  to  God  and 
to  his  children,  our  fellow  men  (Gal.  5:6),  and  so 
a  willingness  to  turn  away  from  all  that  is  opposed 
to  God  according  to  one's  conscience.  Faith  is  the 
attitude  of  the  whole  being  toward  God  which,  be- 
cause of  confidence  in  God  and  in  the  revelation  of 
him  in  Christ,  makes  men  willing  to  live  for  him. 
A  man  may  have  such  faith  and  thus  be  acceptable 
to  God  even  though  his  intellectual  conception  may 
be  only  partially  true  or  may  differ  from  that  of 
others  who  have  faith. 

Of  such  faith  good  works,  according  to  Prot- 
estantism, are  both  the  expression  and  the  test. 
As  the  life  of  the  seed  develops  according  to  its 
kind,  so  unfolds  the  life  of  faith.  Jesus'  word  is 
that  we  know  the  tree  by  its  fruits.  Thus  we  know 
faith  by  its  expression  in  good  deeds,  and  when  we 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Law?  79 

have  the  right  kind  of  faith  we  may  be  sure  of  a 
right  kind  of  life.  Good  fruit  does  not  make  a  tree 
good,  but  a  good  tree  does  make  good  fruit,  and 
good  fruit  is  always  a  sign  of  a  good  tree.  Good 
works  do  not  make  a  man  good,  but  good  deeds  re- 
veal that  a  man  has  the  good  attitude  of  life,  and  a 
man  with  real  faith  will  do  good  works  as  natu- 
rally as  a  good  tree  produces  good  fruit.  "  The 
good  man  out  of  his  good  treasure  bringeth  forth 
good  things,  for  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart 
the  mouth  speaketh  "  (Matt.  12  :  34f.,  quoted  here 
with  a  change  of  order).  Such  is  the  Protestant 
teaching  over  against  the  external,  mechanical,  and 
unethical  conception  of  Romanism,  that  mere  acts 
may  have  a  merit  aside  from  the  moral  disposition 
from  which  they  arise. 

There  are  thus  two  main  thoughts  of  Protestant- 
ism which  are  fundamental  and  which  constitute  its 
strength  and  treasure  at  this  point.  One  is  the  con- 
viction that  religion  is  essentially  a  stedfast  temper 
of  soul  rooted  in  childlike  trust  in  God.  The  other 
is  the  conviction  that  this  childlike  trust  is  insepa- 
rably bound  up  with  the  plain,  simple  principle  that 
the  moral  life  is  the  true  and  inevitable  expression 
and  test  of  the  trust.  These  convictions  Protestants 
base  on  Scripture  and  reason. 


CHAPTER  III 

SALVATION  :    BY   FAITH    OR   SACRAMENT  ? 

The  central  doctrine  of  Protestantism,  salvation  by- 
faith,  comes  into  contrast  with  the  sacramental  as 
well  as  the  legalistic  element  of  Romanism. 

Even  in  the  Old  Testament  the  inwardness  of  the 
basis  of  the  relation  to  God  was  set  forth.  The  new 
covenant  ^  forecasted  by  Jeremiah  is  not  to  be  writ- 
ten on  slabs  of  stone  like  the  tablets  of  the  Mosaic 
covenant.  "  I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts, 
and  in  their  heart  I  will  write  it ;  and  I  will  be  their 
God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people"  (Jer.  31  :  33). 
This  inwardness  of  the  law  is  pertinent  in  regard  to 
the  Protestant  rejection  of  legalism,  but  it  has  even 
more  significance  for  the  consideration  of  sacramen- 
talism.  It  was  simply  one  element  in  that  general 
conception  of  the  necessarily  internal  basis  of  the 
religious  life  which  was  characteristic  of  the 
prophets  and  led  them  to  reject  such  ceremonialism 
as  was  externally  conceived  and  practised  in  the 
Old  Testament  time.  (Micah  6  :  6-8.) 

Jesus  himself  condemned  ceremonialism  in  his 
declaration  that  religious  worth  depended  on  in- 
ward condition  and  not  on  external  conformity  to 

1  The  use  of  the  term  "  new  covenant  "  by  Jesus,  and  the  apply- 
ing of  it  by  him  and  all  Christians  to  the  New  Testament  gospel,  is 
significan* 

80 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament f  8i 

required  ceremonies.  (Matt.  23  :  25;  and  cf.  Luke 
II  :  37-41.)  Paul  very  distinctly  repudiated  an 
outward  ceremonialism.  "  For  he  is  not  a  Jew  who 
is  one  outwardly ;  neither  is  that  circumcision  which 
is  outward  in  the  flesh ;  but  he  is  a  Jew  who  is  one 
inwardly;  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart, 
in  the  spirit,  not  in  the  letter;  whose  praise  is  not 
of  men,  but  of  God  "  (Rom.  2  :  28f.).  This  brief 
but  plain  statement  may  be  corroborated  by  many 
other  passages.  Clearly  the  New  Testament  teach- 
ers, as  well  as  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  rejected 
the  idea  of  the  saving  efficacy  of  ceremonies.^ 

This  scriptural  repudiation  of  ceremonialism 
Protestantism  applies  to  the  Romanist  conception  of 
the  nature  and  function  of  the  sacraments,  though 
it  must  be  said  that  the  degree  of  this  application 
has  differed  in  the  hands  of  various  Protestant  com- 
munions according  to  the  relative  distance  of  their 
removal  from  the  medieval  ideas  of  Romanism. 
Essentially,  however,  in  spite  of  the  differences  in 
denominational  explanations  of  the  use  of  the  sac- 
raments, Protestantism,  because  of  its  central  em- 
phasis upon  faith  and  its  inwardness,  has  been  com- 
mitted by  logic,  if  not  by  creed  and  practice,  to  the 
purely  spiritual  conception  of  the  Christian  cere- 
monies as  distinct  from  a  magical,  external,  and 
mechanical  view.    Gradually  the  more  spiritual  idea 

^  For  the  protest  against  the  supposition  of  intrinsic  saving  value 
in  sacrifice  as  displayed  in  the  non-canonical  literature  before  and  in 
the  New  Testament  times,  see  Smith,  Burton  and  Smith,  "  Biblical 
Ideas  of  Atonement,"  p.  75. 


82  Positive  Protestantism 

has  been  displacing  the  residue  of  medievalism,  at 
least  among  the  bulk  of  Protestants  in  this  country. 

The  Romanist  doctrine  as  to  the  sacraments  has 
two  elements  which  the  Protestant  doctrine  as  to 
faith  makes  impossible  to  hold  as  valid.  One  ele- 
ment is  the  idea  that  the  performance  of  a  sacra- 
mental ceremony  in  and  of  itself  conveys  God's 
grace  without  reference  to  the  inner  attitude  of  the 
worshiper.  The  Roman  Catechism  defines  sacra- 
ment as  "  the  visible  sign  of  an  invisible  grace,  in- 
stituted for  our  justification."  But  it  is  not  a  mere 
sign,  for,  according  to  the  Council  of  Trent,  "  grace 
is  given  through  the  sacraments,  so  far  as  God's 
part  is  concerned,  always  and  to  all  men,"  and  *'  by 
the  sacraments  of  the  new  law  grace  is  conferred 
through  the  act  itself."  This  is  taught  by  Thomas 
Aquinas,  the  greatest  of  all  the  Romanist  theolo- 
gians, and  also  by  Duns  Scotus,  who  said :  "  Grace 
is  conferred  from  the  very  fact  that  the  work, 
namely,  the  sacrament,  is  exhibited,  unless  the  ob- 
stacle of  mortal  sin  prevents ;  so  that  besides  the  ex- 
hibition of  the  sign  openly  exhibited  no  good  mo- 
tion of  the  heart  is  required  in  him  who  receives 
it."  ^  Protestantism  rejects  this  external,  mechan- 
ical, and  magical  conception. 

The  second  objectionable  feature  of  the  Romanist 
doctrine  is  the  proposition  that  the  efficacy  of  the 
sacraments  depends  upon  the  intention  of  the  priest. 

3  Quoted    by    Von    Hase    and    Foster,      See    further    Cardinal    Gib- 
bons, "  Faith  of  Our  Fathers,"  p.  304. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament f  83 

According  to  this  proposition  a  valid  sacrament  has 
been  performed  only  if  the  priest  meant  the  per- 
formance to  convey  grace.*  Certainly  the  Scrip- 
tures give  no  hint  of  authority  for  the  idea  that  any 
man  can  prevent  those  who  seek  God  from  really 
finding  him  or  can  by  an  unannounced  purpose  de- 
stroy the  undoubted  value  of  participating  sincerely 
in  the  Christian  ceremonies.  Protestantism  sees  in 
the  doctrine  of  intention  only  evidence  of  the  me- 
chanical magic  of  the  Romanist  system. 

Protestant  opposition  to  sacramentalism  is  really 
a  positive  affirmation  of  the  place  which  faith  has 
in  religion.  Protestantism  as  well  as  Romanism  in- 
sists that  spiritual  help  is  to  be  secured  by  partici- 
pation in  religious  ceremonies.  But  Protestant 
teaching  stands  on  the  scriptural  position  that  God's 
grace  can  be  dispensed  only  to  those  who  through 
faith  are  receptive  toward  his  influences,  and  con- 
ceives that  faith  is  the  hand  with  which  man  re- 
ceives the  blessing  of  God.  Such  a  view  makes 
plain  that  there  can  be  no  real  and  saving  relation 
between  God  and  man  into  which  man  does  not 
voluntarily  enter,  and  it  commends  itself  at  once  to 
a  reasonable  and  pious  mind. 

One  other  feature  of  the  general  Protestant  atti- 
tude toward  the  sacraments  is  its  refusal  to  recog- 
nize the  number  as  seven.  No  number  of  divinely 
approved  Christian  ceremonies  is  mentioned  in  the 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  4,  for  official  Romanist  s-tatement  of  the 
doctrine  of  intention. 


84  Positive  Protestantism 

Scripture.  The  number  of  sacraments  named  by 
Church  Fathers  has  varied  from  two  to  twelve. 
Romanism  has  fixed  arbitrarily  on  the  number 
seven.  Thus  it  has  omitted  some  ceremonies,  such 
as  foot-washing,  which  has  a  far  better  scriptural 
claim  to  recognition  than  several  of  the  Romanist 
sacraments,  and  is  annually  observed  at  Rome  itself 
as  a  holy  ceremony.  Certainly  there  is  no  scriptural 
or  other  evidence  of  an  institution  of  all  these  seven 
ceremonies  by  Jesus,  and  yet,  according  to  Rome, 
a  sacrament  to  be  such  must  have  been  instituted  by 
Christ.  Only  two,  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
were  so  instituted  in  any  sense  whatsoever.  These 
are  accepted  as  of  primary  and  obligatory  impor- 
tance by  Protestants,  and  have  been  quite  univer- 
sally adopted  by  all  Christians  of  every  age  who 
have  employed  any  recognized  ceremonies.^  Prot- 
estants employ  other  ceremonies,  but  these  two  are 
regarded  as  preeminent  and  obligatory  because  of 
their  institution  by  Christ,  because  of  their  universal 
observance  by  Christians,  and  because  of  their  in- 
herent significance. 

Though  the  number  of  ceremonies  instituted  and 
commanded  by  Christ  is  thus  only  two,  it  is  neces- 
sary, for  understanding  the  differences  of  Protes- 
tant and  Romanist  teaching,  not  only  to  present  the 
Protestant  view  of  these  two,  but  also  to  consider 
the  Protestant  position  with  reference  to  the  other 
ceremonies  regarded  by  Rome  as  sacraments. 

5  For  some  evidential  facts,  see  Appendix,  Note  5. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament?  85 

The  Roman  Catechism  says  baptism  is  "  the  sac- 
rament of  regeneration  through  water  in  the  word." 
Cardinal  Gibbons  declares,®  "  Baptism  washes  away 
original  sin  and  also  actual  sins  from  the  adult  who 
may  have  contracted  them."  Hence,  baptism  is 
necessary  for  salvation,  although  theoretically  the 
purpose  to  be  baptized  is  sufficient,  provided  reali- 
zation is  hindered  by  some  absolutely  unavoidable 
obstacle.  If  the  ceremony  is  performed  with  "  in- 
tention "  and  according  to  the  proper  formula,  its 
validity  is  not  affected  by  the  performer  being  a 
heretic,  a  woman,  a  Jew,  or  a  Saracen,  or  by  the 
goodness  or  the  evil  of  the  administrator,  since 
grace  is  conveyed  by  the  mere  act.'' 

Protestantism  affirms  that  faith  secures  forgive- 
ness of  sins  and  that  baptism  is  merely  the  outward 
sign  of  what  faith  accomplishes.  It  insists,  there- 
fore, when  true  to  its  fundamental  position,  that 
baptism  is  not  necessary  to  sajvation,  but  should  be 
observed  because  of  Christ's  command  and  because 
of  the  fitness  of  this  ceremony  as  the  symbol  of 
that  cleansing  from  sin  and  of  that  union  with 
Christ  which  faith  effects  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  life.  However,  there  is  a  difference  of 
conception  and  practice  among  Protestants  as  to  the 
subjects  and  form  of  baptism. 

The  relation  of  the  fundamental  Protestant  prin- 

s  See   "Faith   of   Our   Fathers,"   p.   315.     Compare   also   Coppens, 

pp.    224f. 

"^  For  Romanists'  views  as  to  the  necessity  of  baptism,  see  Appen- 
dix, Note  6. 


86  Positive  Protestantism 

ciple  to  infant  baptism  is  stated  by  the  Lutheran 
scholar  Von  Hase  when  he  says,  "  The  piece  of 
Catholicism  in  the  heart  of  the  Protestant  Church 
is  infant  baptism,  in  accordance  with  its  significance 
taken  over  direct  from  the  Catholic  Church,  as  ef- 
fecting ipso  facto  regeneration."  ^  It  is  also  recog- 
nized by  the  Romanist  theologian,  Moehler,  who 
asks  with  reference  to  infant  baptism,  "  If  it  is  only 
by  virtue  of  faith  that  sacrament  acts,  of  what  value 
can  it  be  to  an  unconscious  child  ?  "  Some  Prot- 
estant branches  have  not  been  able  to  relate  their 
fundamental  conception  thus  to  infant  baptism. 
Even  some  who  see  the  relation  justify  the  prac- 
tice, after  repudiating  the  magical  efficacy  of  bap- 
tism, by  regarding  it  as  a  ceremony  for  parental 
consecration  through  Christian  love  of  the  lives  of 
little  ones  to  God's  church.  The  analogy  to  cir- 
cumcision of  the  Old  Testament  dispensation  is 
sometimes  cited.  But  the  magical  conception  more 
or  less  persistently  connects  itself  with  the  practice. 
The  Protestants  who  refuse  ^  to  baptize  infants 
hold  that  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  New  Testa- 
ment church  knew  anything  of  infant  baptism,^^  but 
that,  on  the  other  hand,  the  only  specific  cases  of 
baptism  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament  require 

"  For  a  fuller  quotation  from  Von  Hase,  see  Appendix,  Note  7. 

^  In  view  of  the  history  of  the  opposition  to  infant  baptism  on  one 
ground  or  another,  which  goes  back  certainly  as  far  as  Tertullian, 
the  remark  of  Coppens  (p.  224)  that  infant  baptism  was  not  assailed 
until  the  sixteenth  century  shows  almost  an  incredible  ignorance. 
See  A.  H.  Newman,  "  History  of  Anti-Pedobaptism." 

1"  Compare  Appendix,  Note  7. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament?  87 

the  supposition  that  the  baptized  had  personal  faith. 
They  also  consider  that  the  fundamental  teaching 
of  the  New  Testament  as  to  faith,  which  Protestant- 
ism has  made  its  primary  teaching,  renders  absurd 
the  practice  of  infant  baptism,  and  that  the  more 
complete  application  of  the  Protestant  principle  by 
the  rejection  of  it  not  only  saves  Protestantism 
from  inconsistency,  but  also  completely  repudiates 
the  magical  conception  underlying  infant  baptism 
which  is  so  essentially  characteristic  of  Romanism. 
This  repudiation  is  the  more  significant  since,  ac- 
cording to  these  Antipedobaptists,  the  change  from 
the  New  Testament  conception  and  practice  was  due 
to  the  belief  that  baptism  was  necessary  to  salvation, 
and  to  the  consequent  desire  of  parents  to  make 
sure  that  their  children  would  not  be  lost  if  they 
died  before  coming  to  an  age  when  personal  faith 
was  possible.  Thus  the  repudiation  leads  to  the  re- 
jection of  the  inhuman  and  unchristian  idea  that 
unbaptized  children  will  be  forever  lost,  and  to  the 
escape  from  the  superstition  connected  with  this 
idea.  But  this  rejection  is  not  meant  to  imply  that 
dedication  of  children  to  God  and  Christianity  is 
improper,  but  only  a  refusal  to  use  for  the  purpose 
of  ceremonial  dedication  the  New  Testament  cere- 
mony of  baptism  which  was  instituted  for  quite 
another  function,  namely,  as  the  sign  of  the  begin- 
ning, through  faith,  of  the  Christian  life  and  of 
the  believer's  entrance  into  the  Christian  com- 
munity. 


Positive  Protestantism 


There  is  also  a  difference  among  Protestants  as 
to  the  form  of  baptism.  The  majority  use  affusion 
or  sprinkHng,  some  permit  immersion  while  prefer- 
ring sprinkling,  and  others  insist  that  immersion  is 
the  only  proper  form.  Those  insisting  on  immersion 
hold  that  such  was  the  form  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment time,  and  the  tendency  of  modern  scholar- 
ship of  all  denominations  is  to  grant  this  conten- 
tion.^^ Emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  many  indications 
of  the  early  practice  of  immersion,  such  as  the  ex- 
istence of  ancient  baptisteries ;  upon  the  fact  that  the 
Eastern  Church  has  never  used  any  other  form  of 
baptism  than  immersion;  and  upon  the  further  fact 
that  the  first  conciliar  decision  raising  affusion  or 
sprinkling  to  a  place  of  equahty  with  immersion  was 
a  decree  of  the  Council  of  Ravenna  (1311),  and  this 
affected  only  a  single  province  and  not  the  whole 
Western  Church.  From  such  facts  it  is  concluded 
that  the  original  custom  of  the  church  was  immer- 
sion. It  is  also  believed  that  the  change  from  im- 
mersion was  occasioned  by  the  fear  that  such  per- 
sons as  the  sick,  who  were  unable  to  be  immersed, 
would  be  lost,  since  they  must  be  baptized  to  be 
saved.  Such  clinic  baptism  gradually  led,  after  a 
considerable  time,  through  considerations  of  con- 
venience, to  greater  and  greater  prevalence  of 
sprinkling  or  affusion.     Consequently,  insistence  on 

"  It  is  interesting  to  n9te  the  statement  of  the  Jesuit  Coppens 
(p.  223):  "  In  fact,  immersion  was  the  most  usual  manner  during  the 
first  fourteen  centuries."  See  also  article  "  Baptism  "  in  the  Inter- 
national Encyclopedia,  and  Henry  S.  Burrage,  "  The  Act  of  Bap- 
tism." 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament  f  89 

immersion  is  a  protest  against  the  change  and  the 
magical  sacramental  view  which  led  to  the  change. 
Finally,  it  is  held  that  immersion  alone  fitly  sym- 
bolizes that  burial  with  Christ  in  baptism  to  which 
the  New  Testament  refers.  (Rom.  6:4.)  When 
the  force  of  these  considerations  is  in  any  measure 
granted  by  those  who  employ  affusion,  it  is  insisted 
that  in  a  matter  of  form  the  New  Testament  does 
not  need  to  be  followed;  but  reply  is  made  to  this 
by  the  contention  that  it  is  important  to  take  the 
New  Testament  as  guide  in  every  possible  way  and 
to  emphasize  by  protest  the  fundamental  Protestant 
conception  of  the  efficacy  of  faith  as  against  an  ec- 
clesiastical ceremonialism. 

As  in  baptism,  so  in  confirmation,  the  Romanist 
and  Protestant  conceptions  disagree.  Romanism  re- 
gards confirmation  as  a  sacrament  which  of  itself 
conveys  grace.  The  only  use  of  it  consonant  with 
the  Protestant  principles  is  that  which  views  the 
ceremony  as  the  sign  of  the  personal  faith  in  Qirist 
which  the  participator  possesses.  Not  all  Protes- 
tants use  the  ceremony,  for  those  bodies  which  bap- 
tize only  on  profession  of  faith  have  no  need  of  it. 
Confirmation  arose  only  after  infant  baptism  had 
become  general.  In  the  New  Testament  time  bap- 
tism was  the  ceremony  of  professing  faith  in  Christ 
and  of  entering  the  Christian  community.  Infant 
baptism  changed  the  significance  of  baptism,  and 
left  the  church  without  a  ceremony  to  mark  per- 
sonal acceptance  of  Christ  and  entrance  into  the 


90  Positive  Protestantism 

community  of  Christians.  The  need  was  filled  by 
the  creation  of  the  rite  of  confirmation/-  Those 
Protestant  bodies  which  do  not  use  confirmation 
and  yet  practise  infant  baptism,  have  their  own 
varied  but  similar  modes  of  receiving  people  into 
church-membership;  and  all  these  modes  are  only 
substitutes  for  baptism  as  this  ordinance  was  em- 
ployed in  the  churches  of  the  New  Testament 
time. 

According  to  Romanism,  while  baptism  washes 
away  sin,  the  grace  of  God  conveyed  by  baptism  is 
lost  through  every  mortal  sin  and  must  be  restored 
through  the  sacrament  of  penance.  This  consists 
in  repentance  leading  to  confession,  or  relating  to 
a  priest  all  one's  mortal  sins — venial  sins  may  but 
do  not  have  to  be  confessed — and  receiving  absolu- 
tion from  the  priest.  He  acts  as  a  judge,  and  ab- 
solves with  the  expectation  of  the  performance  by 
the  sinner  of  certain  deeds,  such  as  almsgiving, 
prayers,  and  fasts,  which  are  known  as  "  penances  " 
or  "  satisfactions."  The  article  on  "  Penance  "  in 
the  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  says :  "  The  absolution 
given  by  the  priest  .  .  .  remits  both  the  guilt  and 
the  eternal  punishment  of  mortal  sin.  There  re- 
mains, however,  some  indebtedness  to  Divine  jus- 
tice which  must  be  canceled  here  or  hereafter." 
Thus  God  is  conceived  as  only  partially  forgiving 
sin  and  as  requiring  still  some  payment  to  be  met  by 

^"  Thus  the  Episcopalian  church  historian  Allen  ("  Christian  Insti- 
tutions," pp.  404f.)  says  that  confirmation  now  serves  the  purpose 
for  which  New  Testament  baptism  was  used. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament?  91 

temporal  punishment  ^^  inflicted  in  "  penances."  If 
this  payment  is  unmet  at  death,  it  must  be  suffered 
in  purgatory.  Indulgences  may  be  issued,  miti- 
gating or  abolishing  these  "  penances  "  or  substitut- 
ing lighter  penalties,  and  may  even  apply  to  tem- 
poral punishment  to  be  met  hereafter  in  purgatory. 

Scriptural  ground  for  these  elements  of  the  sac- 
rament pi  penance  is  claimed  by  Romanism  in  the 
saying  of  Jesus :  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Spirit : 
whose  soever  sins  ye  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  unto 
them;  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  shall  be 
retained  "  (John  20  :  22f.).  But  in  these  words  or 
their  context  there  is  no  institution  of  a  sacrament, 
no  reference  to  auricular  confession,  and  no  indi- 
cation of  a  judicial  authority  to  inflict  penalties.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  right  to  declare  sins  forgiven 
on  the  basis  of  God's  promises,  which  this  pas- 
sage gives,  is  conferred  by  Jesus  on  the  entire 
church  (Matt.  16  :  19;  18  :  18),  and  consequently 
the  right  is  not  confined  even  to  the  apostles  alone, 
much  less  to  the  Roman  priesthood.^* 

Protestantism  advocates  the  New  Testament  con- 
ception of  and  insistence  on  repentance. ^^     Repen- 

13  It  would  seem  from  statements  of  Romanist  teachers  that  "  tem- 
poral punishment  "  is  to  be  distinguished  from  "  eternal  punishment  " 
in  being  temporary  instead  of  everlasting;  in  being  less  grievous 
than  "  eternal  punishment,"  though  the  greater  gravity  is  not  de- 
fined, but  is  left  to  the  imagination;  and  in  covering  only  that  in- 
debtedness to  God  remaining  after  eternal  guilt  and  punishment  have 
been  wiped  out  by  sacramental  grace. 

11  For  the  use  of  the  word  "  penance  "  in  the  Douai  English  Ver- 
sion of  the  Bible,  which  is  the  approved  Catholic  version  for  use  in 
this  country,  see  Appendix,  Note  8. 

15  The  Greek  words  translated  "  repentance  "  and  ''  repent  "  have 
as  their  literal  and  essential  meaning  "  a  change  of  mind."  See  also 
Appendix,  Note  8. 


92  Positive  Protestantism 

tance  is  a  prerequisite  to  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  It 
is  a  part  of  the  right  inner  attitude  toward  God,  in 
view  of  which  God  is  willing  to  deal  with  men.  It 
is  that  part  which  includes  sorrow  for  and  detesta- 
tion of  sins  and  such  a  change  of  mind  toward  sin 
as  amounts  to  a  turning  away  from  it.  When  to 
repentance  is  added  the  abiding  confidence  in  God 
and  his  revelation  as  a  Father  which  faith  requires, 
then  men  secure  forgiveness  and  the  assurance  of 
such  without  further  ado.  Such  is  the  abundantly 
expressed  teaching  of  the  New  Testament. 

Protestants  believe  in  confessing  sins  primarily 
and  directly  to  God.  They  appreciate  and  accept 
also  the  Scripture  injunction,  "  Confess  therefore 
your  sins  to  one  another,  and  pray  for  one  another, 
that  ye  may  be  healed."  But  Protestants  object  to 
the  compulsion  of  Romanist  confession,  for  there 
is  no  warrant  for  it  in  Scripture  and  no  support  in 
church  tradition  for  a  thousand  years.  Confession 
to  God  is  necessary  for  one  who  chooses  to  serve 
God  and  seeks  forgiveness,  but  confession  to  a 
Christian  minister  is  optional.  Protestant  ministers 
often  receive  voluntary  confessions  and  give  spirit- 
ual advice  relative  thereto.  But,  as  Von  Hase  says, 
"  Out  of  the  good  deed  of  taking  counsel  for  the 
conscience  with  an  experienced  man  in  whom  one 
can  confide,  according  as  an  individual's  circum- 
stances have  brought  about  the  need  of  this,  there 
has  come  to  exist  in  the  Roman  Church  a  compul- 
sion and  a  snare  which  oppresses  the  conscience. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament?  93 


chokes  the  moral  sensibilities,  and  denies  Christian 
liberty." 

The  possibility  of  securing  forgiveness  by  con- 
fessing sins  directly  to  God  was  clearly  implied  by 
Jesus  when  he  taught  us  to  pray,  *'  Forgive  us  our 
debts,  as  we  forgive  our  debtors."  He  gave  no 
slightest  indication  that  this  simple  petition  would 
not  be  answered  until  the  petitioner  had  confessed 
to  a  priest.  Indeed,  Romanism  itself  inconsistently 
admits  the  possibility  of  securing  forgiveness  with- 
out confession  when  it  teaches  that  if,  after  con- 
scientious self-examination,  the  confessor  has  for- 
gotten some  of  his  mortal  sins,  these  are  forgiven 
along  with  those  actually  confessed.  If  God  will 
forgive  some  without  confession,  why  not  all? 
Protestantism  therefore  affirms  that  any  follower 
of  Christ  can  pray  directly  to  God,  confessing  his 
sin,  and  receive  forgiveness  through  his  repentance 
and  faith. 

Protestants  may  admit  the  salutary  effect  of  con- 
fession in  inspiring  fear  of  wrong-doing,  but  the 
incidental  benefits  are  outweighed  by  the  evils  con- 
nected with  it.  The  arbitrary  distinction  between 
mortal  and  venial  sins,  the  latter  of  which  do  not 
have  to  be  confessed,  can  have  only  a  demoralizing 
effect.  The  power  which  knowledge  gained  in  the 
confessional  gives  the  priesthood  is  a  bulwark  of 
ecclesiasticism,  which  is  fraught  with  danger  and 
has  been  misused  in  the  past.  In  the  confessional 
questions  too  there  is  positive  evil.     If  these  ques- 


94  Positive  Protestantism 

tions  do  not  actually  incite  to  certain  kinds  of  sin, 
especially  in  the  case  of  women  who  learn  from 
them  for  the  first  time  concerning  some  immoral 
practices,  they  at  least  create  a  suggestive  atmos- 
phere most  unhealthful  for  good  morals.  The  un- 
pleasant situation  is  plainly  revealed  in  Romanist 
books  of  instructions  to  priests  for  hearing  con- 
fessions. Because  of  such  connected  evils  Protes- 
tantism condemns  compulsory  auricular  confession. 
Moreover,  God  either  forgives  sin  or  he  requires 
satisfaction  for  it.  He  cannot  do  both,  nor  partly 
one  and  partly  the  other  on  any  ethical  basis.  Paul 
declared,  "  There  is,  therefore,  no  condemnation 
to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus"  (Rom.  8  :  i), 
and  that  what  the  law,  ceremonial  or  other,  could 
not  do,  faith  in  Christ  by  itself  accomplishes,  full 
acquittal  from  sin  and  a  start  on  the  right  road. 
(Cf.  Rom.  8  :  i  with  Rom.  3  :  21-30.)  Thus  God 
really  forgives  sins  freely  without  any  payment  of 
any  kind.  Moreover,  there  is  no  moral  connection 
between  the  sins  confessed  and  the  penalties  pre- 
scribed. What  has  the  saying  of  a  certain  number 
of  prayers,  the  fasting  from  certain  foods,  or  the 
giving  of  alms  to  do  with  the  forgiveness  of  sin? 
These  acts  may  have  value,  but  as  ethical  grounds 
for  forgiveness  they  are  beyond  ethical  comprehen- 
sion. Or,  of  what  moral  value  are  penances  that 
may  be  performed  by  substitutes?  The  answer  is 
plain.  But  the  case  is  still  worse.  Prayer,  the  high 
privilege    of   personal    communion    with    God    the 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament?  95 

Father,  is,  when  inflicted  as  a  penance,  lowered  to 
a  punishment  for  sin ;  fasting,  whose  spiritual  bene- 
fit as  a  teacher  of  self-control  depends  upon  volun- 
tary exercise,  is  made  a  punishment  for  sin  and  an 
externally  efficacious  act;  and  almsgiving,  which 
should  spring  only  from  Christian  unselfishness,  be- 
comes in  effect  a  means  of  buying  with  filthy  lucre 
the  assurance  of  God's  favor.  Surely  Jesus,  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matt.  6),  clearly  enough 
condemned  these  very  practices  when  merely  ex- 
ternal, and  laid  the  emphasis  on  the  praying  and 
fasting  and  almsgiving  which  are  in  secret  and  come 
from  the  innermost  motives  of  the  heart.  He  even 
condemned  as  heathenish  that  much  repeating  of 
prayers  to  which  penances  have  since  led.  Indeed 
this  entire  conception  of  penalties  is  utterly  foreign 
to  the  simplicity  and  piety  of  the  New  Testament.^^ 
But  the  crown  of  the  sacramental  system  is  not 
penance,  but  the  eucharist  and  the  mass.  Romanism 
holds  that  by  the  words  of  consecration  spoken  by 
the  priest  the  bread  and  wine  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
are  changed  into  the  actual  body  and  blood  of  Qirist 
and  each  is  both  the  body  and  the  blood.  "  The 
Catholic  doctrine  is  thus  stated  in  the  creed  of 
Pius  IV :  '  I  profess  that  there  is  offered  to  God 
a  true  and  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  living  and 

1'  Indulgences  constitute  another  element  of  the  Romanist  system 
of  penance,  but  owing  to  the  relative  cessation  of  the  promulgation 
of  general  indulgences  since  the  time  of  the  Reformation  and  the 
consequently  comparatively  smaller  part  they  now  play  in  Romanism, 
this  matter  will  be  reserved  for  a  later  chapter  as  will  also  the  con- 
sideration of  the  connected  thought  of  purgatory. 


g6  Positive  Protestantism 

the  dead;  and  that  in  the  most  Holy  sacrament  of 
the  Eucharist  there  is  truly,  really,  and  substantially 
the  Body  and  the  Blood,  together  with  the  Soul  and 
Divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  that  there 
takes  place  a  conversion  of  the  whole  substance  of 
the  bread  into  the  Body  and  of  the  whole  substance 
of  the  wine  into  the  Blood ;  which  conversion  the 
Catholic  Church  calls  transubstantiation.  I  also 
confess  that  under  either  kind  alone  Christ  is  re- 
ceived whole  and  entire  and  a  true  Sacrament/  "  ^^ 
Cardinal  Gibbons  says :  "  The  sacrifice  of  the  Mass 
is  the  consecration  of  the*  bread  and  the  wine  into 
the  body  and  blood  and  the  oblation  of  this  body 
and  blood  to  God  by  the  ministry  of  the  priest,  for 
a  perpetual  memorial  of  the  Christ's  sacrifice  on  the 
cross.  The  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  identical  with 
that  of  the  cross,  both  having  the  same  victim  and 
High  Priest — Jesus  Christ."  Accordingly  this  cere- 
mony is  on  the  one  hand  the  eucharist,  participation 
in  which  brings  sacramental  grace,  and  on  the  other 
it  is  a  repetition  of  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  as  an  oflfer- 
ing  in  behalf  of  those  who  worship. 

The  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  is  rejected  by 
Protestantism  on  several  grounds.  Romanism  has 
no  warrant  for  insisting  that  Jesus'  words,  "  This 
is  my  body,"  are  to  be  taken  literally.  Jesus  said 
also,  "  I  am  the  door"  (John  lo  :  7),  but  no  one 
thinks  of  understanding  this  as  a  literal  statement. 
Why  should  we  not  consider  Jesus'  language  as 

i'^  Quoted,  except  last  sentence,  in  Coppens,  p.  321. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament f  97 

figurative  in  the  passage  cited  for  this  doctrine, 
when  it  is  perfectly  plain  that  the  bread  is  not  the 
body  and  can  be  conceived  of  in  this  language  only 
if  it  be  taken  figuratively?  Even  according  to  Ro- 
manism the  "  is  "  is  not  to  be  taken  to  mean  iden- 
tity; for  the  substance  of  bread  and  wine  is  done 
away  entirely  and  a  new  substance  is  created  by  a 
miracle ;  so  that  the  meaning  of  '*  is  "  according 
to  this  view  turns  out  to  be  something  more  than 
literal,  and  the  word  really  signifies  "  changed  into." 
There  is  no  warrant  for  such  a  meaning  of  "  is." 
There  is  consequently  no  scriptural  support  for  the 
doctrine,  and  in  addition  history  proves  it  to  have 
been  a  development  from  small  beginnings  in  the 
early  Christian  centuries  through  various  stages  of 
growth  until  it  was  finally  adopted  by  the  ecclesi- 
astical authority  of  the  Lateran  Council  (1215). 
Such  poor  authority  will  not  with  Protestants  make 
up  for  the  lack  of  Scripture. 

The  repudiation  of  transubstantiation  rests  also 
on  the  incredibility  of  the  supposed  miracle  of  turn- 
ing bread  and  wine,  each  and  both,  into  the  actual 
body  and  blood  of  Jesus  with  muscles,  bones,  nerves, 
and  whatsoever  appertains  to  a  true  body,  and  also 
at  the  same  time  into  Christ's  whole  soul  and  di- 
vinity. By  every  standard  of  judgment  which  in- 
telligence can  apply  the  elements  remain  precisely 
what  they  were,  as  a  chemical  analysis  would  re- 
veal, and  when  eaten  and  drunk  they  undoubtedly 
take  the  same  course  of  digestion  as  any  other  food. 

G 


98  Positive  Protestantism 

Moreover,  how  is  the  whole  physical  body  of  Christ 
to  be  conceived  as  present  at  once  in  the  eucharistic 
elements  of  many  widely  separated  churches,  wholly 
in  each  place,  and  at  the  same  time  wholly  at  the 
right  hand  of  God?  One  cannot  accept  transub- 
stantiation  unless  he  sets  aside  all  scientific  and  rea- 
sonable methods  of  thought. 

There  is  too  an  objection  to  this  Romanist 
teaching  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  religious  ef- 
fect of  it.  To  a  piety  that  springs  from  the  depths 
of  a  heart  sensitive  with  reverence  for  God,  it  is 
repulsive  to  think  of  eating  one's  God,  and  that  is 
what  the  Romanist  teaching  involves.  It  is  the  ac- 
tual physical  body  and  blood  and  also  the  whole 
soul  and  divinity  of  Christ  that  one  eats  in  partaking 
of  either  the  bread  or  the  wine.  The  Arabian  phi- 
losopher Aver  roes  could  say  with  justification  so  far 
as  Romanism  and  medievalism  are  concerned,  *'  The 
Christians  adore  what  they  eat,"  and  he  might  have 
said,  "  They  eat  what  they  adore."  To  be  sure,  the 
piety  of  Romanists  is  not  at  all  shocked  by  this  con- 
ception, probably  because  they  do  not  stop  to  think 
of  what  is  involved.  But  to  a  thoughtful  piety  it  is 
repelling.  For  how  can  spiritual  blessing  be  con- 
ceived to  depend  upon  the  manducatipn  of  the  phys- 
ical body  and  blood  of  Christ? 

Agreed  unanimously  as  to  the  rejection  of  tran- 
substantiation,  Protestants  have  had  several  differ- 
ent interpretations  of  the  significance  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.    The  Lutheran  view,  least  far  removed  from 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament f  99 

the  Roman  Catholic,  held  that  the  body  and  blood 
were  present  in  the  elements  since  God  is  Christ, 
and  therefore  Christ,  like  God,  is  everywhere.  This 
view  can  be  true  only  if  the  physical  body  of  Christ 
is  ubiquitous ;  this  conception  is  almost  as  difficult 
as  transubstantiation.  Calvin  held  that  since  the 
presence  of  a  thing  was  indicated  by  the  presence 
of  its  power,  Christ's  presence  in  the  elements  was 
certain,  since  his  power  influenced  partakers  of  the 
supper.  The  Anglican,  or  Episcopalian,  view  holds 
that  there  is  a  real  presence  in  the  elements,  much 
in  the  same  sense  as  the  burning  bush  was  a  mani- 
festation to  Moses  of  the  real  presence  of  God. 
None  of  these  views  claims  to  be  specifically  taught 
in  the  Scriptures,  but  only  to  be  interpretation  of 
Scripture  statements.  Each  of  them  insists  that 
Christ  is  present  in  the  bread  and  wine. 

An  additional  view,  however,  which  best  accords, 
in  the  view  of  its  variously  affiliated  advocates, 
with  the  whole  teaching  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  is  most  harmonious  with  the  fundamental 
Protestant  position,  and  which  best  meets  the  de- 
mand of  a  reasonable  conception  of  the  spiritual 
life,  is  that  the  bread  and  wine  represent  as  symbols 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  According  to  this 
view  Christ's  presence  is  of  the  kind  he  promised 
when  he  said,  "  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of 
them"  (Matt.  18  :  20).  He  is  in  the  hearts  of  the 
worshipers  spiritually,  and  the  only  function  which 


loo  Positive  Protestantism 

the  elements  perform  is  their  suggestiveness  as 
symbols,  calling  to  mind  the  Lord's  passion,  and  as 
necessary  parts  of  an  impressive  ceremony,  the 
psychological  accompaniments  of  which  are  spirit- 
ually helpful  because  God  through  Christ  is  in  the 
heart  to  bless  it. 

On  the  basis  of  this  last  view  the  religious  signifi- 
cance of  the  Lord's  Supper  may  be  made  plain. 
Any  one  may  secure  through  participation  in  this 
ceremony  the  greatest  spiritual  blessing,  provided 
only  he  has  faith  and  takes  the  proper  attitude  in 
the  observance.  The  piety  and  experience  of  the 
Christian  centuries,  taken  in  addition  to  the  teach- 
ings of  the  New  Testament,  are  sufficient  evidence 
of  this.  But  there  are  different  ways  of  explaining 
how  the  blessing  comes.  The  Romanist  says  that 
it  comes  in  virtue  of  the  miracle  of  changing  the 
bread  and  wine  into  the  actual  body  and  blood  and 
soul  and  divinity  of  Christ.  Protestantism  says,  and 
most  consistently  in  the  view  last  stated  above,  that 
the  blessing  comes  from  the  presence  of  God  in  the 
worshiper's  heart,  that  is,  through  the  miracle  of 
inner  spiritual  communion  with  God.  The  bread 
and  wine  as  symbols  suggest  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,  and  thus  through  this  suggestion  lead  to 
that  attitude  of  receptive  faith  and  pious  meditation 
which  are  the  means  through  which  God  cooperates 
with  the  human  spirit.  Then  too,  participation  in 
the  common  meal  adds  the  sense  of  Christian  fel- 
lowship. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament f         loi 

Romanism  prolongs  the  Lord's  Supper  by  adding 
to  the  eucharist,  or  sacrament  of  sharing  the  bread 
and  wine,  the  mass.  Following  the  Old  Testament 
conception  of  the  priest,  and  conceiving  that  the 
priestly  office  must  include  the  sacrificial  function, 
Romanism  holds  that  its  priesthood  fulfils  this  func- 
tion by  performing  sacrifice  in  the  mass.^^  This 
sacrifice  of  Christ  is  an  offering  to  God  on  behalf  of 
all  present.  The  mass  not  only  memorializes  or  calls 
to  mind  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  but  repeats  it.  It 
logically  follows  that  the  priest  must  be  conceived 
as  again  putting  our  Lord  to  death  as  he  was  once 
crucified  on  behalf  of  the  world.  Moreover,  in  the 
popular  mind  at  least,  and  in  the  idea  of  masses  for 
the  dead,  the  Romanist  notion  of  sacrifice  in  the 
mass  runs  into  that  of  pagan  propitiation;  for  par- 
ticipation in  the  ceremony  through  inner  attitude  on 
the  part  of  those  sharing  the  benefits  of  the  sacrifice 
is  no  longer  thought  of  as  necessary,  and  is  impos- 
sible in  the  case  of  the  dead.  Protestantism  repudi- 
ates all  such  ideas  as  external,  unreasonable,  and 
even  as  unchristian  and  pagan. 

Protestantism  urges  against  the  conception  of  the 
mass  the  utter  absence  of  any  reference  to  it  in  the 
New  Testament.  Certainly  at  the  institution  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  there  was  no  idea  of  repeating  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ.    The  teaching  of  the  New  Tes- 

18  Since  comparatively  few  persons  partake  of  the  bread,  the  only 
element  allowed  the  laity,  the  regular  church  service  of  the  Roman- 
ist churches  has  come  to  be  almost  entirely  this  prolonged  mass  or 
sacrifice.  Mere  presence  at  the  elevation  of  the  host  secures  divine 
grace. 


I02  Positive  Protestantism 

tament  implies  precisely  the  contrary  of  the  Ro- 
manist notion,  for  it  states  that  Christ  made  a  sac- 
rifice once  for  all  and  that  his  death  did  away  with 
the  need  of  sacrifices.  (For  example,  Heb.  9  :  12, 
25,  26,  28;  10  :  10,  12,  14,  18.)  This  is  a  precise 
denial  that  Christ's  sacrifice  has  to  be  repeated.  As 
if  the  value  of  Jesus'  sacrifice  could  be  increased  by 
a  mere  priest  of  any  religious  body !  The  only  sac- 
rifices expected  of  Christians  are  those  of  the  spir- 
itual inner  life  and  what  may  be  thereby  practically 
involved.  (Ps.  51  :  17.)  The  necessary  sacrificial 
spirit  is  indeed  helped  by  participation  in  the  Lord's 
Supper,  for  the  memory  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ 
is  sanctified  to  the  strengthening  of  the  worshiper's 
sacrificial  spirit  by  the  Spirit  of  God  at  work  in  his 
heart. 

The  final  feature  of  the  Romanist  eucharist  need- 
ing notice  is  the  withholding  of  the  cup  from  the 
laity.  No  Scripture  warrant  for  this  is  claimed,  and 
it  is  not  held  that  this  has  been  the  custom  of  the 
church  in  all  times.  It  is  frankly  admitted  that  both 
the  bread  and  wine  were  given  to  the  laity  in  the 
early  church.  The  first  thousand  years  of  the 
church  knew  little  of  any  other  custom.  At  least 
four  popes  favored  or  commanded  the  administer- 
ing in  both  kinds,  and  the  decrees  of  councils  have 
vacillated  from  one  position  to  the  other.^^  This 
wavering  is  excused  by  the  Romanists  on  the  plea 
that  the  church  need  not  give  reasons  for  its  de- 

19  For  some  historical  evidence,  see  Appendix,  Note  9. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament?         103 

crees — a  strange  contention  of  believers  in  an  in- 
fallible and  unchangeable  teaching  office.  Some 
very  trivial  arguments  in  support  of  the  custom  are 
sometimes  put  forth,  such  as  that  the  laity  are  likely 
to  spill  the  sacred  wine.  But  the  essential  reason 
for  maintaining  the  administering  in  one  kind  to  the 
laity  is  the  glorification  of  the  priesthood  as  alone 
fully  entitled  to  a  place  at  the  Lord's  Supper.  Prot- 
estants without  exception  maintain  the  custom  of 
the  New  Testament  church. 

The  special  privilege  of  the  cup  is  in  keeping  with 
the  priestly  prerogatives  which  arise  out  of  the  sac- 
rament of  order  or  ordination.  Through  the  divine 
grace  imparted  by  this  sacrament,  according  to  Ro- 
manism, is  bestowed  the  power  of  order,  that  is,  of 
preaching  the  word,  of  administering  the  sacra- 
ments, and  of  jurisdiction,  by  which  is  meant  au- 
thority in  the  church  and  particularly  in  the  con- 
fessional. This  power  is  exclusively  the  prerogative 
of  the  ordained. 

Protestants  have  ceremonies  of  ordination,  but, 
except  in  the  case  of  those  who,  like  the  Episco- 
palians, believe  in  apostolic  succession,  they  do  not 
conceive  that  these  ceremonies  convey  any  special 
grace  to  the  minister  or  make  him  a  different  kind 
or  grade  of  being.  These  ceremonies  are  but  the 
formal  way  of  recognizing  the  call  and  the  fitness 
of  individuals  to  the  special  work  of  the  min- 
istry, whose  functions  are  reserved  for  the  ordained, 
not  on  the  ground  that  a  sacerdotal  order  is  neces- 


I04  Positive  Protestantism 

sary  for  mediation  between  God  and  men,  but 
merely  for  the  sake  of  orderliness  in  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  church  and  for  the  sake  of  efficiency 
in  its  work.  Protestants  do  not  conceive  that  any 
special  powers  inhere  in  the  ministry.  The  only 
ground  for  accepting  the  Romanist  doctrine  a§  to 
"  order  "  is  the  tradition  which  the  hierarchy  has 
developed  and  conserved  in  th.e  interests  of  main- 
taining and  enlarging  its  own  superiority. 

Romanism  regards  marriage  also  as  a  sacrament, 
though  it  was  certainly  not  instituted  by  Christ  as 
the  Romanist  definition  of  sacrament  would  require. 
Scriptural  warrant  is  found  in  Paul's  statement, 
"  Husbands,  love  your  wives,  as  Christ  also  loved  the 
church,  and  delivered  himself  up  for  it.  .  .  This  is 
a  great  sacrament,  but  I  speak  in  Christ  and  in  the 
church  "  (Eph.  5  :  25,  32,  Douai  English  Version). 
But  this  translation  is  false,  for  the  word  expressed 
in  Latin  as  "  sacrament "  means  in  Greek  '*  mys- 
tery." Besides,  as  appears  from  the  verses  between 
the  two  quoted,  the  mystery  is  not  that  of  marriage 
but  of  the  relation  of  Christ  and  the  church.  Paul 
definitely  states,  "  This  mystery  is  great,  but  I  speak 
in  regard  of  Christ  and  of  the  church"  (English 
Revised  Version).  The  Latin  Vulgate,  except  for 
the  one  word  which  means  sacrament,  is  capable  of 
being  rendered  in  precisely  this  language.  Cajetan, 
the  brilliant  opponent  of  Luther,  admitted  that  this 
passage  could  not  be  used  for  teaching  that  mar- 
riage is  a  sacrament. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacramentf         105 

Romanist  theologians  are  far  from  clearness  or 
agreement  either  as  to  the  "  form  "  or  "  matter  "  of 
this  supposed  sacrament.-^  The  "  form  "  is  either 
the  benediction  of  the  priest  or  the  acceptance  of 
each  other  by  the  contracting  parties.  The  signifi- 
cance of  this  for  practical  purposes  is  shown  in  the 
fact  that  if  the  ''  form  "  is  the  benediction  of  the 
priest,  there  are  no  real  Christian  marriages  except 
those  performed  by  Romanist  priests.  The  declara- 
tions of  different  popes  may  be  appealed  to  for  both 
views  of  the  ''  form.*'  Yet  most  recently  the  encyc- 
lical letters  (the  most  weighty  authority  in  the 
church)  of  Pius  X,  widely  published  in  this  country 
a  few  years  ago,  decided  for  the  priestly  benedic- 
tion, and  consequently  the  infallible  pope  has  settled 
it  that  no  one  is  living  in  real  Christian  marriage 
relations  except  those  married  by  Romanist  priests. 
Certainly  some  priests  tell  the  plain  people  that  they 
are  living  illicitly  if  married  by  another  than  a  Ro- 
manist priest,  and  attempts  have  been  made  to  break 
up  families  on  this  basis.  Such  declarations, 
whether  cathedratic  and  infallible  or  not,  have  no 
legal  standing  or  effect  in  such  a  country  as  ours, 
but  they  serve  to  show  the  actual  position  and  spirit 
of  the  Romanist  hierarchy.  Their  very  statement 
has,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  present  writer,  driven 
people  out  of  the  Roman  Church,  and  the  conten- 

20  In  Romanism  "  form  "  is  the  technical  term  for  the  effective 
formula  of  a  sacrament,  and  "  matter  "  is  the  term  for  the  necessary 
material  used,  such  as  water  in  baptism,  bread  and  wine  in  the 
eucharist. 


io6  Positive  Protestantism 

tion  itself  obviously  does  not  require  refuta- 
tion.21 

Protestantism  finds  no  reason  to  regard  marriage 
as  a  sacrament,  especially  as  Protestants  repudiate 
sacramentalism.  It  does  conceive  marriage  as  di- 
vinely appointed  and  approved  as  a  social  insti- 
tution.^- 

The  final  sacrament  of  the  Roman  Church  is  also 
the  final  one  for  life,  extreme  unction.  Scriptural 
warrant  is  claimed  in  the  passages  which  refer  to 
the  common  practice  in  ancient  times  of  dealing 
with  sickness  by  anointing  with  oil  under  religious 
influences.  (James  5  :  I4f. ;  Mark  6  :  13;  16  :  18.) 
But  this  custom  looked  to  the  recovery  of  the  sick 
and  not  to  preparation  for  dying,  and  the  scriptural 
injunction  is  to  the  lay  brethren,  not  to  a  special 
priesthood.  There  is  no  great  antiquity  for  the 
practice  of  extreme  unction  as  a  sacrament.  The 
name  itself  did  not  come  into  use  until  the  eighth 
century,  and  then  only  to  indicate  a  remedy  for  the 
sick.    Romanism  holds  that  this  sacrament  conveys 

21  Marriages  between  Protestants  and  Romanists  are  an  almost 
inevitable  source  of  family  difficulty.  Even  where  it  has  been  agreed 
beforehand  that  the  Protestant  party  shall  have  some  freedom  per- 
sonally and  some  control  over  the  religious  training  of  the  children, 
the  agreement  is  often  not  lived  up  to.  Even  when  the  Catholic 
party  is  willing  to  abide  by  his  or  her  agreement,  his  or  her  Roman- 
ist relatives  are  free  to  exercise  the  Romanist  duty  to  bring  all  into 
the  one  true  church.  Certainly  when  people  of  such  different  re- 
ligious affiliations  and  principles  as  Protestants  and  Romanists  marry, 
they  take  into  their  hand  their  happiness  and  the  effectiveness  of 
home-making.  If  Romanists  could  agree  to  disagree  it  might  be 
different,  but  the  position  of  their  church  forbids  this.  Thus  re- 
ligion, which  should  strengthen  and  sweeten  the  home  becomes  a 
spring  of  discord. 

22  For  a  comparison  of  Romanist  and  Protestant  positions  as  to 
divorce,  see  Appendix,  Note  lo. 


Salvation:  By  Faith  or  Sacrament f         107 

the  divine  grace  necessary  to  remove  the  guilt  of 
transgressions  which  may  remain  to  be  expiated  at 
the  time  of  death.  Protestantism  rejects  the  sacra- 
ment and  the  practice  of  anything  Hke  it  as  a  re- 
ligious ceremony. 

Finally,  it  is  to  be  reiterated  that  Protestant 
views  as  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  church  are  con- 
trolled, by  the  fundamental  emphasis  upon  the  value 
of  faith.  The  worth  of  the  rites  of  the  church  de- 
pends upon  the  faith  of  the  participant,  and  upon 
the  ceremonies  themselves  only  in  so  far  as  they  are 
the  appropriate  expression  of  an  inner  experience 
and  suggestive  of  those  considerations  which  help 
faith.  God  is  in  the  hearts  of  the  worshipers,  and 
blesses  them  through  faith. 


CHAPTER  IV 

PROTESTANT    CONCEPTION   OF   THE   FUNCTION   AND 
AUTHORITY   OF   THE   CHURCH 

More  fundamental  even  than  the  conceptions  dis- 
cussed in  the  preceding  chapters  is  the  contrast  be- 
tween Protestant  and  Romanist  teaching  concern- 
ing the  function  of  tjie  church  and  the  authority  of 
the  same  in  all  religious  matters.  Ultimately  the 
decisions  of  Romanists  concerning  the  ideas  already 
discussed  rest  upon  their  position  in  regard  to  the 
church  and  its  authority.  For  Protestants  like- 
wise, the  question  of  the  source  of  authority  for 
religious  thought  and  practice  is  of  primary  im- 
portance. In  this  connection  there  are  four  main 
subjects  for  consideration:  (i)  The  nature  and 
function  of  the  church;  (2)  the  ministry  of  the 
church;  (3)  the  authority  of  the  pope  in  contrast 
to  private  judgment;  and  (4)  the  question  of 
whether  Romanism  is  the  sole  channel  of  grace  or 
whether  religious  life  and  certainty  concerning  it 
can  be  had  on  the  Protestant  basis. 

I.    the   CHURCH 


Since   for  Protestantism  faith  is  the  basis  and 
se 
108 


essence  of  religious  life,  the  church  is  conceived  of 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church      109 

as  the  aggregate  of  those  who  have  faith  in  God 
through  Christ.  It  thus  includes  all  Christians  of 
whatever  shades  of  opinion,  provided  only  that 
they  have  a  living  personal  faith.  This  is  the 
ideal  church,  the  true  catholic  or  universal  church. 
The  visible  church  is  the  church  organized  on  a 
voluntary  basis  in  many  different  ways  in  the  vari- 
ous communions,  and  as  emphasizing  the  various 
phases  of  Christian  truth.  The  visible  church  is 
thus  not  a  single  organization,  but  an  aggregate  of 
organizations  composed  of  those  who  have  faith 
in  God  through  Christ.  While  each  group  of  Prot- 
estants is  loyal  to  its  own  opinions  and  practices, 
Protestantism  holds  that  the  Christian  church  in- 
cludes Romanist,  Eastern  Catholic,  and  Protestant 
branches.  Churches  exist  as  organizations  for  the 
strengthening  of  Christian  life  by  means  of  public 
worship  and  instruction.  Christian  fellowship,  and 
Christian  service.  The  churches  are  also  working 
forces  for  the  evangelization  and  the  Christianiza- 
tion  of  the  world.  In  this  work  the  laity  as  well  as 
the  ministers  are  assigned  a  very  large  and  legiti- 
mate part.  The  local  church  in  Protestantism  be- 
comes also  the  center  of  social  life  of  the  people, 
a  responsibility  for  the  social  life  is  felt,  and  a 
definite  effort  is  made  to  meet  the  need.  Still 
further,  the  Protestant  churches  are  coming  to-day 
to  emphasize  that  the  teachings  of  Jesus  must  be 
taken  by  Christian  people,  not  merely  into  that  in- 
dividual life  which  centers  about  the  thought  of 


no  Positive  Protestantism 

individual  communion  with  God  and  individual  sal- 
vation, but  also  into  those  applications  which  will 
mean  the  construction  of  human  society  on  the  basis 
of  Christian  principles.  All  of  this  organized  life  is 
thought  of  as  the  opportunity  and  expression  of 
faith. 

The  Romanist  view  of  the  church  differs  from 
this  conception  in  conceiving  the  ideal,  invisible 
church  as  future  and  as  arising  from  the  visible 
church,  and  in  regarding  inclusion  in  the  ideal 
church  as  dependent  upon  right  relations  with  the 
visible  church.  According  to  Protestantism,  the 
church  could  not  exist  except  for  the  Christian  dis- 
position in  the  hearts  of  those  who  constitute  it. 
As  mutual  love  leads  to  marriage,  so  faith  in  God 
and  love  for  him  lead  to  the  institution  of  the 
church.  Romanism,  on  the  other  hand,  conceives 
that  out  of  the  church  arises  the  disposition  of  a 
Christian,  as  if  the  existence  of  the  institution  of 
marriage  and  the  performance  of  the  ceremony 
created  the  mutual  love.  Consequently,  according 
to  this  view,  submission  to  the  one  true  church  is 
essential  before  there  can  be  any  Christian  life. 
This  one  true  church  is  the  visible  organization 
in  the  world  which  possesses  certain  marks:  apos- 
tolicity,  catholicity,  holiness,  and  unity. 

The  only  church  which  has  these  marks' is  the 
Roman  Church.  Its  apostolicity  consists  in  the 
founding  of  the  church  of  Rome  by  the  apostles; 
that  is,  in  the  fact,  as  Romanists  claim,  that  Peter, 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church      iii 

the  head  of  the  apostles,  was  the  first  bishop  of 
Rome,  to  whom  Christ  handed  over  authority  and 
power;  and,  in  the  transmission  of  this  authority 
and  power  by  an  unbroken  succession  to  the  present 
through  the  bishops  of  Rome.  Catholicity  consists 
in  universal  diffusion  throughout  the  world  and 
"  identity  as  to  faith  and  communion  in  whatever 
place,"  The  holiness  of  the  church  is  not  the 
actual  achievement  of  holiness  on  the  part  of  all 
its  members,  but  is,  according  to  the  Roman  Cate- 
chism, the  church's  ceremonial  and  historically  con- 
tinuous consecration  to  God,  its  historical  union  with 
Christ,  the  head — that  is,  through  the  unbroken 
apostolic  succession,  not  through  ethical  identi- 
fication of  the  church-members'  purposes  with 
Christ's — and  its  sole  possession  of  the  sacrificial 
cultus  and  of  the  sacraments  which  are  the  means 
of  effecting  true  holiness.  The  Roman  Church 
has  unity  through  its  one  organization,  its  oneness 
of  doctrinal  belief,  and  its  unchangeability  through- 
out the  ages.  Therefore,  the  Roman  Church  is  the 
only  real  Christian  church,  and  alone  possesses 
the  power  of  dispensing  the  divine  grace  necessary 
for  salvation.  Its  one  chief  demand  is  submissive 
obedience  with  all  which  that  obedience  involves. 
Through  this  obedience  Romanism  makes  relation- 
ship to  Christ  depend  upon  relationship  to  the 
church,  whereas  Protestantism  makes  relationship 
to  Christ  determine  relationship  to  the  church. 
Rome's  claims  to  be  the  only  true  church  rest 


11^  Positive  Protestantism 

essentially  upon  the  claim  of  apostolicity,  which 
is  expressed  in  the  declaration  of  the  Vatican  Coun- 
cil that  "  the  holy  and  blessed  Peter  .  .  .  lives,  pre- 
sides^ and  judges  to  this  day  and  always,  in  his  suc- 
cessors, the  bishops  of  the  Holy  See  of  Rome,  which 
was  founded  by  him  and  consecrated  by  his  blood." 
There  are  three  elements  in  this  claim:  (i)  Peter 
founded  the  church  at  Rome;  (2)  he  was  its  first 
bishop;  (3)  he  was  martyred  at  Rome. 

There  is  no  positive  evidence  that  Peter  was 
ever  at  Rome  except  the  unsupported  tradition  that 
he  was  martyred  there  and  the  patristic  tradition 
of  his  presence  in  Rome,  which  is  first  clearly  ex- 
pressed by  Irenaeus  about  A.  D.  176,  or  more  than 
one  hundred  years  after  the  supposed  event.  Quo- 
tations by  Romanists  of  Church  Fathers,  who  are 
supposed  to  give  an  earlier  expression  of  the  tradi- 
tion, will  not  bear  examination. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  positive  evidence 
that  proves  the  unreliability  of  the  first  and  second 
allegations  of  fact  and  leaves  the  third  without  any 
force  for  the  Romanist  contention.  The  supposi- 
tion that  Peter  was  the  first  bishop  of  Rome  is 
directly  contradicted  by  the  fact  plainly  manifested 
in  the  New  Testament  that  the  apostles  did  not 
hold  local  pastorates  or  bishoprics.  Likewise,  the 
New  Testament  account  of  Peter's  movements 
renders  it  impossible  to  credit  the  tradition  as 
to  Peter's  Roman  bishopric,  since  that  tradition 
places  him  in  Rome  during  the  twenty-five  years 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church      113 

in  which  the  New  Testament  speaks  of  his  presence 
elsewhere.  Paul's  letter  to  the  Romans  implies 
(Rom.  15  :  20)  that  he  would  not  have  planned  to 
visit  or  sought  to  influence  the  church  at  Rome  had 
Peter  or  any  other  apostle  been  its  founder.  Nor, 
had  Peter  been  bishop  when  this  letter  was  written, 
as  the  twenty-five  years  of  the  tradition  requires, 
would,  Paul  have  failed  to  mention  him,  especially 
as  he  sends  salutations  to  several  individuals  at 
Rome.  Besides,  the  claim  of  Rome  is  contrary  to 
the  very  Church  Fathers  whose  statements  are  sup- 
posed to  favor  the  Roman  contention.  Irenseus, 
the  first  to  give  a  list  of  the  Roman  bishops,  specifi- 
cally says  that  the  bishopric  was  committed,  after 
the  founding  of  the  church,  to  Linus  and,  in  the 
list  of  bishops  following  this  statement,  Linus  is 
first,  since  Eleutherius  appears  as  and  is  declared 
to  be  twelfth.  Eusebius,  writing  about  A.  D.  324, 
said  distinctly,  "  Linus  was  the  first  to  obtain  the 
episcopate  of  the  church  at  Rome."  Thus  the  evi- 
dence of  the  New  Testament  and  of  the  Fathers, 
Irenseus  and  Eusebius,  disposes  of  the  supposition 
that  Peter  was  the  founder  and  first  bishop  of  the 
church  at  Rome. 

The  church  at  Rome  probably  came  into  being 
naturally  and  spontaneously  through  the  gathering 
in  Rome  of  Christians  from  various  parts  of  the 
empire.  It  is  extremely  doubtful  that  Peter  was 
ever  in  Rome,  as  was  just  said.  If  Peter  did  die 
a  martyr  in  Rome  as  alleged,  that  fact  had  no  rela- 

H 


114  Positive  Protestantism 

tion  to  the  Romanist  claim  to  apostolicity,  since  the 
claim  really  depends  on  the  impossible  contention 
that  Peter  was  the  founder  and  first  bishop  of 
Rome. 

Even  if  all  the  allegations  of  fact  made  by  Rome's 
claims  were  granted,  the  Roman  contention  would 
not  be  established,  for  there  is  not  the  slightest 
trace  of  evidence  that  Peter  as  apostle  or  as  first 
bishop  ever  handed  over  to  his  supposed  successor 
any  prerogatives  or  powers.  Lack  of  evidence  at 
this  point  is  precisely  fatal  to  the  Romanist  position. 

In  contrast  to  Romanism,  whatever  may  be  said 
of  the  incompleteness  in  the  position  of  any  single 
branch  of  Protestantism,  Protestants,  as  a  whole, 
have  at  least  urged  the  higher  ideals  as  to  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  true  church.  For  Protestantism 
regards  apostolicity  as  the  inheritance  of  the  whole 
of  the  Christian  heritage  and  as  agreement  with  the 
spirit,  teachings,  and  practices  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, rather  than  as  the  possession  of  special  eccle- 
siastical prerogatives  handed  down  by  a  succession 
from  Peter,  which  cannot  be  given  even  the  sem- 
blance of  probability  In  view  of  the  evidence.  Prot- 
estants have  not,  as  is  sometimes  stated,  started 
new  religions,  but  continue  New  Testament  Chris- 
tianity in  new  appreciations  and  developments  as 
much  as  other  branches  continue  It  In  medieval  and 
outworn  forms.  The  succession  of  the  inheritance 
of  Christianity  and  agreement  with  the  New  Testa- 
ment, which  do  not  depend  upon  the  confirming  hand 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church      115 

of  an  ecclesiastical  officer,  constitute  the  only  apos- 
tolic succession  worth  considering. 

Further,  Protestantism  defines  catholicity  or  uni- 
versality in  the  terms  of  breadth  and  charity  to 
recognize  as  such  all  Christians  who  have  faith 
in  God  through  Christ  and  are  loyal  to  Christ  and 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  and  not  as  mere  geograph- 
ical and  external  diffusion  of  one  ecclesiastical  and 
creedal  type  of  Christianity.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
Rome  has  not  been  the  mother  of  all  churches. 
Jesus'  command  that  preaching  should  begin  at 
Jerusalem  (Luke  24  :  47)  and  the  whole  New  Tes- 
tament point  to  Jerusalem  as  the  first  center,  and 
it  is  plain  that  Rome  was  far  from  being  in  any 
such  position  in  the  early  Christian  church.  Even 
when  Rome  had  become  the  center  of  Western 
Christianity,  her  relationship  to  the  Eastern  and 
Celtic  Churches  will  not  bear  out  her  claim.  In 
regard  to  Rome's  motherhood  of  all  modern  Chris- 
tian advance,  such  a  statement  as  that  of  Cardinal 
Gibbons  ^  shows  a  strange  and  inexcusable  ignorance 
of  the  history  of  Protestant  missions.  But  such 
a  claim  of  priority  in  introducing  the  gospel  upon 
this  or  that  continent  is  beside  the  mark,  for  cath- 
olicity depends  on  the  possession  of  New  Testa- 
ment saving  faith.  Wherever  men  with  faith  join 
together  to  maintain  and  propagate  the  Christianity 
of  the  New  Testament  and  to  practise  a  life  in 
accord  with  the  same,  they  are  a  part  of  the  true 

1  •' Faith  of  Our  Fathers,"  p.  139. 


Ii6  Positive  Protestantism 

catholic  church,  whatever  may  be  their  theological 
opinions  or  their  ecclesiastical  practices.  The  whole 
church  is  truly  catholic  only  when  it  includes  all 
who  have  real  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Similarly,  Protestantism  defines  the  holiness  of 
the  church,  when  considered  a  possession,  as  real 
moral  achievement,  and  when  held  to  be  a  power 
of  impartation,  as  ability  to  lead  by  persuasion  and 
other  religious  influence  to  moral  achievement,  and 
not  as  consisting  in  the  sole  possession  of  the  sacri- 
ficial and  other  cultus  through  which  alone  cere- 
monial holiness  can  be  secured.  However  much  the 
antiquity  of  the  church  may  inspire  reverence,  ulti- 
mately respect  for  the  church  must  rest  upon  the 
recognition  by  men  that  it  has  been  the  agency  in 
the  hands  of  God  in  wielding  those  influences  which 
have  led  to  and  fostered  a  faith  in  God  through 
Christ  and  a  life  in  accord  with  such  faith.  Neither 
the  possession  of,  nor  the  power  to  impart,  holiness 
is  monopolized  by  any  one  branch  of  the  church,  as 
the  moral  and  spiritual  achievements  of  the  various 
groups  indicate. 

As  to  unity.  Protestantism  holds  that  real  Chris- 
tian unity  consists  in  the  common  possession  of  the 
spirit  and  faith  of  Jesus  and  the  apostles,  and  in 
holding  to  an  ethical  purpose  and  life,  such  as  that 
for  which  the  Master  prayed  when  he  asked  of  God 
that  his  followers  might  be  one  as  he  and  his  Father 
were  one.  Such  unity  allows  cooperation  in  Chris- 
tian work,  and  is  possible  in  spite  of  divergence  of 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church      117 

creedal  statements,  in  spite  of  a  number  of  distinct 
church  organizations,  and  in  spite  of  the  absence  of 
even  a  claim  to  an  unchangeable  or  other  authorita- 
tive tradition.  Such  unity  Protestantism,  in  a  large 
measure,  already  possesses.  Rome,  with  all  her  in- 
tolerance, has  not  been  able  to  achieve  her  own 
ideal  of  unity  in  her  own  communion,  and  it  is  her 
attitude  which  renders  cooperation  between  her  and 
other  Christians  impossible. - 

The  mere  statement  of  these  ideals  of  Protestant- 
ism, since  they  so  commend  themselves  to  the  mod- 
ern mind,  convincingly  disposes  of  the  claim  of  Rome 
to  be  the  only  true  catholic  church,  and  this  dis- 
posal is  confirmed  by  Rome's  failure  either  to  con- 
ceive or  achieve  these  ideals.  An  analogous  conclu- 
sion may  be  reached  also  with  reference  to  the  idea 
of  the  minister  and  his  function. 

II.    THE   MINISTRY 

In  the  New  Testament  time  ministers  were  simply 
those  who  were  set  aside  for  specific  services  in  the 
church.  One  will  look  in  vain  for  anything  that 
smacks  of  a  sacerdotal  order.  Protestants  take  as 
ground  for  their  positive  teaching  of  the  priesthood 
of  all  believers  such  passages  as  Revelation  i  :  6 
and  I  Peter  2  :  5  (and  others  of  the  same  purport 
and  of  corroborative  significance)  which  refer  to 
the  priestly  function  of  all  Christians.  According 
to  this  doctrine,  any  one  who  has  faith  may  exercise 

=  For  evidence  of  disunion  in  Romanism,  see  Appendix,  Note  ii. 


Ii8  Positive  Protestantism 

the  functions  of  priesthood,  since  faith  of  itself 
gives  access  to  God  without  the  mediation  of  a 
special  order  of  officials.  Communion  with  God, 
therefore,  does  not  wait  upon  sacerdotal  preroga- 
tives, but  is  possible  to  the  humblest  Christian. 
Protestants  conceive,  however,  that  for  the  sake 
of  orderliness  and  efficiency  in  the  church's  work 
it  is  necessary  to  have  specially  educated  men  to 
whom  is  assigned  the  work  of  ministers.  Men  who 
can  give  evidence  of  an  inward  call  to  such  work 
and  who  have  received  sufficient  training  for  it 
are  ordained  to  be  the  spiritual  leaders  and  teachers 
of  the  church.  Their  ordination  is  only  the  ecclesias- 
tical recognition  of  their  call  and  fitness.  Protes- 
tantism does  not  make  its  ministers  by  their  ordina- 
tion into  a  special  order  of  beings  different  from 
other  Christians,  and  possessing  divine  prerogatives 
and  power  to  dispense  or  withhold  God's  grace  as 
they  may  see  fit.  Protestantism  thinks  of  its  min- 
isters only  as  divinely  called  and  specially  trained 
persons,  chosen  to  perform  the  functions  which  any 
real  Christian  has  the  religious  right  to  perform. 

The  Romanist  conception  of  the  clergy,  as  persons 
who  have  been  set  aside  as  a  special  class  with 
divine  powers  by  the  ecclesiastical  institution  which 
constitutes  the  only  channel  of  God's  grace,  is  clearly 
stated  by  the  theologian  Moehler :  ''  For  the  exer- 
cise of  public  functions  in  the  Church,  for  the  dis- 
charge of  the  office  of  teaching,  and  for  the  admin- 
istration of  the  sacraments  a  divine  internal  calling 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church      119 

and  a  higher  quaHfication  are  above  all  things  re- 
quired. .  .  As  the  preservation  of  the  doctrine  and 
institutions  of  Christ  has  been  entrusted  to  the 
Church  ...  he  [the  priest]  receives  through  her  ex- 
ternal consecration  the  inward  consecration  of  God ; 
or,  in  other  words,  he  receives  through  the  laying 
on  of  hands  of  the  bishop  the  Holy  Ghost "  (pp. 
304-306).  Accordingly,  the  priest  possesses  an  ex- 
ternally imparted  supernatural  power,  which,  in  the 
popular  mind  at  least,  is  easily  merged  into  super- 
stitious regard  for  a  supposed  magical  control  of 
spiritual  matters.  Thomas  Aquinas  said :  ''  A  priest 
is  a  sort  of  middleman  and  mediator  between  God 
and  the  people,  as  we  read  of  Moses,  and  there- 
fore it  belongs  to  him  to  deliver  the  divine  decrees 
to  the  people;  and  again,  that  which  comes  from 
the  people  in  the  way  of  prayers  and  sacrifices  and 
offerings  ought  to  be  paid  to  God  through  the 
priests."  ^  Except  by  baptism,  divine  grace  cannot 
be  secured  without  the  priest's  activity,  and  not 
even  in  the  case  of  baptism  if  a  priest  is  accessible. 
The  priest  too,  by  his  divine  power,  can  turn  bread 
and  wine  into  the  actual  flesh  and  blood  and  bones 
and  soul  and  divinity  of  Jesus.  In  the  mass  also 
the  priest  has  the  power  of  repeating  Christ's  sacri- 
ficial death.  He  holds  the  power  of  forgiving  sins, 
the  power  of  absolution,  and  of  administering  the 
sacraments  upon  which  forgiveness  depends.*     In 

*  Quoted  by  Coppens,  p.  232. 

*  For  a  Jesuit  estimate  of  the  priest  and  for  the  use  of  the  word 
"priest"  in  the  Douai  version,  see  Appendix,  Note   12. 


I20  Positive  Protestantism 

the  absence  of  any  trace  of  such  a  priesthood  in 
the  New  Testament,  it  is  impossible  to  escape  the 
force  and  validity  of  the  Protestant  conception 
plainly  supported  by  the  New  Testament,  which 
holds  the  ministry  to  be  an  office  to  which  is  dele- 
gated for  the  sake  of  efficiency  and  good  order 
the  functions  and  capacities  which  really  belong 
to  any  one  who  has  faith. 

Protestantism  differs  from  Romanism,  not  only 
in  regard  to  this  general  conception  of  the  minis- 
ter, but  also  with  reference  to  the  necessity  and 
wisdom  of  a  celibate  ministry.  Rome  requires  that 
her  priests  shall  take  the  vow  of  celibacy  in  order 
that  the  priest,  having  only  an  ecclesiastical  con- 
science, may  be  freer  for  the  work  of  the  church 
than  a  man  of  family  can  be,  and  also,  and  this  is 
the  characteristic  ground,  because  the  celibate  state 
is  regarded  by  Romanism,  according  to  pagan 
ascetic  ideas,  as  a  higher  moral  state  than  matri- 
mony. Upon  these  two  arguments  of  expediency 
and  asceticism  Rome  must  depend,  for  one  will 
look  in  vain  in  the  New  Testament  for  any  trace 
of  a  celibate  sacerdotal  order.  History  reveals  that 
the  adoption  of  celibacy,  even  theoretically,  came 
only  after  a  long  struggle,  and  has  never  been  uni- 
versal, since  in  particular  the  Eastern  Catholic 
Church  has  never  required  it. 

The  Romanist  argument  of  expediency  is  based 
on  a  false  assumption,  for  the  Protestant  minister 
with  his  family  is  no  less  devoted  to  his  work  than 


Fiifjiction  and  Authority  of  the  Church      12 1 

the  Roman  priest.  The  contacts  of  life  with  wife 
and  children,  the  joys  of  these  associations,  and 
even  the  cares  of  family  responsibilities  enrich  the 
character  of  the  minister  and  give  him  a  knowl- 
edge of  life  which  enables  him  to  give  wise  advice 
and  sympathy  to  married  people.  Then  too,  a 
married  minister  escapes  the  temptations  to  which 
celibacy  subjects  men.  The  effectiveness  of  Chris- 
tian ministers  must  meet  the  test  of  their  moral 
integrity  in  relation  to  the  opposite  sex.  The  his- 
tory of  celibacy  is  a  sad  and  revolting  story  and 
a  record  of  failure.^  The  Protestant  ministry  is 
relieved  of  the  compulsion  of  celibacy's  hindrance 
to  effectiveness,  while  at  the  same  time  nothing 
prevents  any  man  practising  it  if  he  is  of  that  mind. 
Consequently  the  ministry  loses  nothing  through  the 
privilege  of  marriage,  but  rather  gains  in  efficiency. 
The  assumption  as  to  the  essential  impurity  of 
the  sex  relation  is  also  false.  This  relation  is  as 
much  God-given  and  as  legitimately  human  as  any 
other  relation  of  life.  Even  if  chastity  in  the  sense 
of  celibacy  were  a  holier  state  than  marriage,  the 
mere  vow  of  celibacy  and  the  formal  keeping  of 
the  same  would  not  really  achieve  this  state.  Jesus 
said,  "  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one  that  looketh 
on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her  hath  committed  adul- 
tery with  her  already  in  his  heart "  (Matt.  5  :  28). 

'Even  Pope  Pius  II  (1458-1464),  referring  to  the  failure  of  celi- 
bacy, said,  "  Reasons  have  been  found  for  denying  marriage  to  the 
clergy,  but  perhaps  there  are  still  greater  to  be  found  for  restor- 
ing it." 


122  Positive  Protestantism 

Romanist  writers  themselves  have  given  us  ample 
descriptions  of  the  internal  conflicts  of  priests  who 
nevertheless  maintain  their  vows  outwardly.  But 
chastity  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  celibacy. 
There  is  no  higher  chastity  than  that  of  a  pure, 
well-regulated  marriage.  The  New  Testament 
shows  us  that  the  early  ministry  was  married,  yet 
chaste.^  Accordingly,  Protestantism  repudiates  the 
ascetic  assumption  as  to  celibacy  and  maintains  the 
socially  beneficial  institution  of  the  minister's  family 
with  its  character-developing  influence  on  the  min- 
ister, and  with  its  real  contribution  to  the  work  of 
the  church. 

Romanism  and  Protestantism  have  also  a  dif- 
ferent view  as  to  the  grades  of  the  ministry. 
Speaking  generally,  the  Protestants  ^  of  this  country 
have  only  the  two  ranks  of  ministry,  deacons  and 
pastors  (also  called  bishops  or  elders),  which  are 
known  to  the  New  Testament.  In  congregationally 
governed  bodies  men  entering  the  ministry  seldom 
go  first  through  the  diaconate,  as  is  the  case  in 
other  bodies.  Some  denominations  use  the  title 
"  bishop "  without  distinguishing  a  third  rank  in 
the  ministry.  For  example,  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  assigns  to  certain  pastors  the  duties 
of  general  supervision,  and  then  calls  them,  because 
of  their  election  to  perform  these  duties,  "  bishops." 

•For  New  Testament  evidence,  see  Appendix,  Note  13. 

''The  Lutheran  churches  of  the  Scandinavian  countries,  the  An- 
glican Church,  and  its  representative  in  America — the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church — have  an  additional  rank  of  bishop. 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church      12^, 

Moreover,  in  the  last  analysis  the  authority  and 
privileges  of  the  Protestant  ministry  arise  from, 
and  are  delegated  by,  the  people  of  the  church, 
composed  of  those  who  have  faith  in  Christ  and 
who  are  members  by  personal  choice.  This  ac- 
cords with  the  situation  described  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. 

Romanism  has  three  orders  of  the  clergy.  They 
are  deacons  who  have  not  yet  attained  to  full 
priestly  powers  and  prerogatives,  priests,  and  lastly 
bishops,  who  alone  can  confirm  and  can  confer 
priestly  ordination,  and  who  control,  as  command- 
ers, the  priests  of  their  respective  dioceses.  The 
ultimate  source  of  appointment  and  authority  of 
the  priesthood  of  the  three  ranks  is  the  pope,  so 
that  the  priestly  authority,  powers,  and  privileges 
come  down  from  him  rather  than  arise  from  the 
people.  For  a  long  while  the  bishops  of  the  early 
church,  after  the  bishopric  as  a  distinct  office  had 
been  differentiated  from  the  eldership  and  raised 
above  it,  were  elected  by  the  people  of  their  re- 
spective dioceses.  The  bishopric  of  Protestant 
bodies  which  retain  it  preserves  a  greater  measure 
of  the  freedom  and  democracy  of  this  early  situa- 
tion than  does  Romanism. 

Therefore,  in  regard  to  the  ministry  as  in  regard 
to  the  nature  and  function  of  the  church,  it  is 
Protestantism,  not  Romanism,  which  is  in  harmony 
with  the  New  Testament,  and  whose  views  are 
natural  and  reasonable. 


124  Positive  Protestantism 


III.   RELIGIOUS   AUTHORITY 

For  Protestants,  the  final  authority  in  religion  is 
the  Scriptures,  interpreted  with  the  help  of  God's 
Spirit  present  in  the  heart  through  faith  and  by 
the  best  intelligence  and  widest  knowledge  obtain- 
able. Such  authority  is  plainly  not  merely  external. 
Protestants  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
ture because  they  are  convinced  of  its  divine  value 
as  the  source  of  religious  ideas  and  inspirations, 
and  because  they  conceive  that  it  can  have  value 
only  as  men  use  it  from  conviction  and  choice. 
This  conception  will  be  set  forth  below  in  greater 
detail  after  the  Romanist  position  has  been  stated 
and  the  Protestant  estimate  of  the  same  has  been 
presented. 

The  first  step  in  this  presentation  is  the  Romanist 
definition  of  the  church's  infallibly  authoritative 
teaching  ofiice.  According  to  the  Jesuit  Coppens, 
"  As  a  body  of  believers  she  [the  church]  cannot 
believe  what  is  false;  as  a  teaching  body — ^and 
as  such  we  consider  her  here — she  cannot  teach 
what  is  false"  (p.  91).  Thus  Romanism  takes  the 
consciousness  which  the  whole  body  of  Christians 
have  always  had  of  their  possession  of  God's  truth 
in  the  gospel  and  turns  it  into  an  indefinable  super- 
natural power  to  avoid  error  in  belief  and  in  teach- 
ing. The  only  basis  for  accepting  such  a  claim  of 
power  is  Rome's  own  assertion  that  she  possesses  it. 

Rome  claims  to  exercise  this  supernatural  power 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church      125 

in  the  use  of  Scripture.  She  insists  that  she  rests 
her  position  on  Scripture.  But  by  virtue  of  her 
power  in  the  teaching  office  she  claims  that  the 
Scriptures  must  first  be  interpreted  by  her  before 
they  are  of  any  value.  For  this  interpretation  she 
uses  what  she  regards  as  valid  tradition — the  valid 
decrees  of  the  general  councils  as  she  is  willing  to 
accord  them  validity,  and,  most  important  of  all,  the 
infallible  authority  of  the  pope's  ex-cathedra  decla- 
rations. Coppens  says  in  regard  to  reading  dog- 
matic views  into  the  Scriptures :  "  A  sensible  trans- 
lation is  an  interpretation  or  commentary ;  and  every 
translator  reads  his  own  dogmatic  views  into  the 
passages  interpreted.  This  is  as  it  should  be  when 
the  dogmatic  views  are  supported  by  an  infallible 
authority.  But  heretics  thus  make  the  Bible  teach 
heresy."  This  implies  the  introduction  of  dogmatic 
views  into  all  interpretation  of  the  Scripture  and  not 
alone  into  translation.  Perrone  (quoted  by  Von 
Hase)  even  more  naively  declares:  *' Catholics  are 
not  very  solicitous  as  to  the  criticism  and  interpre- 
tation of  the  Holy  Scripture.  For  they  themselves, 
to  put  the  matter  in  a  word,  have  the  fabric  already 
prepared  and  complete,  and  stand  firm  and  secure 
in  its  possession."  Romanists  seem  entirely  ob- 
livious that  such  statements  show  their  argument  to 
be  proceeding  in  a  circle,  for  Rome  claims  to  estab- 
lish her  teaching  by  Scripture,  but  then  establishes 
the  teaching  of  Scripture  by  her  dogmatic  concep- 
tions.    According  to  this  assertion  of  the  power 


126  Positive  Protestantism 

of  the  teaching  office,  there  is  absolutely  no  appeal 
to  Scripture  which  can  possibly  be  used  to  refute 
Romanism  because,  however  clearly  by  every  stand- 
ard of  science  and  intelligence  the  writers  of  the 
Bible  meant  something  different  from  Romanist 
dogmas,  they  did  not  mean  any  such  thing,  for  the 
church  teaches  the  contrary. 

Rome's  subordination  of  the  Scripture  to  the 
teaching  office  has  led  to  her  hostility  to  the  lay  use 
of  the  Bible.  Excepting  the  statements  of  the  earliest 
popes,  the  official  attitude  of  Rome  has  been  per- 
sistently against  such  use.^  In  a  country  such  as 
ours  Rome  grants  more  readily  than  elsewhere  per- 
mission to  read  a  version  in  the  common  tongue. 
Dens,  a  Romanist  writer,  says  that  the  sale  of  the 
Douai  Bible  in  Romanist  bookstores  is  a  relaxation 
of  the  rule  of  the  church  permitted  in  Protestant 
countries.^  This  relaxation  is  possibly  due  to  the 
fear  that  without  it  intelligent  laymen  will  make  use 
of  the  easily  accessible  versions  in  English  which 
are  scholarly  rather  than  Romanist;  for,  if  the 
Bible  is  to  be  read,  it  had  better  be  read  in  a  ver- 
sion which  conserves  the  interests  of  Romanism 
as  far  as  possible.  As  late  as  January  26,  1914, 
a  public  ecclesiastical  burning  of  the  Scriptures  took 
place  in  the  PhiHppine  Islands.^^  Without  running 
fatal  dangers  to  her  whole  position,  Rome  cannot 

8  For  evidence  as  to  their  hostility,  see  Appendix,  Note  14. 

^Quoted  by  McKim,  p.  176. 

1'  See  R.  J.  Miller,  "  Fundamentals  of  Protestantism." 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       127 

permit  the  general  use  of  the  Scriptures  except 
under  the  control  and  interpretation  of  her  teach- 
ing office. 

The  teaching  office  is  regarded  as  having  its  em- 
bodiment in  tradition.  Historically  this  was  the 
first  conception  of  the  agency  of  the  teaching  power 
of  the  church.  According  to  Moehler  (p.  279) 
tradition  "  is  the  living  word  perpetuated  in  the 
heart  of  believers."  In  other  words,  it  is  the  con- 
sensus of  Christian  opinion.  During  the  first  two 
or  three  centuries  at  least,  this  opinion  was  formu- 
lated necessarily  by  individual  Fathers.  Thus  more 
objectively,  tradition  is  the  definite  deposit  of  propo- 
sitions which  are  infallible  and  unchangeable.  These 
are  to  be  found  in  the  accounts  of  martyrs,  in 
liturgies,  in  the  writings  of  the  Church  Fathers  and 
of  the  schoolmen,  and  in  inscriptions.  The  stand- 
ard of  infallibility  is  that  any  given  proposition 
should  have  been  accepted  everywhere,  always,  and 
by  all.  But  this  standard  is  an  impossible  one,  for 
tradition  is  full  of  most  incredible  material.  Con- 
sequently, in  spite  of  the  requirement  of  this  stand- 
ard by  the  creed  of  Pius  IV  and  by  the  Council  of 
Trent,  Romanism  does  not  now  ascribe  infallibility 
to  all  tradition,  but  only  to  that  which  the  church 
selects  as  infallible.  Perrone  naively  says,  "  The 
belief  that  prevails  at  present  is  the  surest  criterion 
by  which  to  recognize  what  has  been  the  belief  of 
the  church  in  each  century."  Thus  the  teaching 
office  subordinates  its  own  embodiment  to  itself,  and 


128  Positive  Protestantism 

again  argues  in  a  circle  by  claiming  tradition  as  an 
authoritative  basis,  but  refusing  any  tradition  that 
does  not  suit  its  purposes. 

The  attitude  of  Protestantism  toward  tradition  is 
intelligible  and  intelligent.  It  insists  that  what  con- 
stitutes tradition  must  be  determined  by  scientific 
study  as  any  historical  facts  are  determined,  not 
by  arbitrary  selection  of  alleged  historical  situations 
to  serve  a  special  purpose.  When  secured,  tradition 
is  to  be  estimated  according  to  the  New  Testament. 
Jesus  upbraided  the  Pharisees  for  making  void 
the  word  of  God  by  their  traditions.  (Mark  7  : 
5-13.)  Paul  gave  warning  in  more  than  one  letter 
against  following  the  traditions  of  men  in  contrast 
to  his  own  spoken  and  written  words  of  gospel  in- 
struction. (Col.  2  :  8 ;  2  Tim.  4  :  4 ;  2  Thess.  2:15; 
3:6.)  On  the  foundation  of  this  scriptural  atti- 
tude toward  tradition,  Protestantism  refuses  to 
allow  tradition  to  interpret  the  Scripture  contrary 
to  its  plain  meaning,  to  set  aside  or  supplant  any 
scriptural  teaching,  or  in  any  way  to  alter  the 
Scripture.  Protestantism  is  willing  to  see  in  tradi- 
tion, where  scientific  study  warrants  it,  an  unfolding 
and  a  corroboration  of  Scripture,  but  not  an  orig- 
inal source  of  Christianity  equal  or  superior  to 
the  Scripture.  It  holds  that  the  proper  source  of 
Christian  truth  and  authority  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Bible,  and  especially  in  Jesus'  life  and  words,  to- 
gether with  their  interpretation  at  the  hands  of 
the  apostles  who  have  contributed  to  the  New  Tes- 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       129 

tament.  The  Protestant  attitude  toward  tradition 
is  consequently  reasonable  and  convincing. 

The  church  early  came  to  feel  that  tradition  or 
the  consensus  of  Christian  opinion  was  too  elusive. 
This  feehng  resulted  in  the  calling  of  councils,  com- 
posed of  all  the  bishops  of  the  church,  wherever 
located,  to  determine  the  important  mooted  points. 
From  the  fourth  to  the  seventh  century  these  gen- 
eral or  ecumenical  councils  were  the  supreme  eccle- 
siastical authority.  Rome  to-day  recognizes  the  au- 
thority of  those  councils  which  she  regards  as  truly 
ecumenical, ^^  The  creed  of  Pius  IV  requires  this 
declaration,  "  I  likewise  undoubtedly  receive  and 
profess  all  other  things  delivered,  defined,  and  de- 
clared by  the  Sacred  Canons  and  General  Coun- 
cils and  particularly  by  the  Holy  Council  of  Trent." 

Yet  Rome  now  proceeds  very  cautiously  in  claim- 
ing infallible  authority  for  councils.  For  one  rea- 
son, councils  have  sometimes  been  called  and  held 
under  very  trying  pressure  from  the  secular  power, 
and  their  representative  character  both  as  to  ex- 
tent and  quality  of  representation  may  often  be 
justly  questioned.  Besides,  even  those  which  fully 
meet  the  external  requirements  of  the  definition  of 
ecumenical  councils  have  disagreed  among  them- 
selves from  time  to  time.^^     Consequently,  in  any 

'^  For  a  brief  summary  of  act<;  of  councils  recognized  by  Rome  as 
ecumenical,  see  R.  J.  Miller,  "  The  Fundamentals  of  Protestantism," 
pp.  i74f.    Also  see  the  International  Encyclopedia,  article  "  Councils." 

^2  Of  many  instances  of  such  disagreement  the  following  example  is 
sufficient.  The  fifth  Council  of  Constantinople  (A.  D.  553)  set  aside 
the  decision  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  as  to  the  heresy  of  two 
Eastern  bishops.      See  also  Appendix,  Note  9. 

I 


130  Positive  Protestantism 

given  case  the  one  council  or  the  other  was  clearly 
fallible.  The  fallibility  of  councils  was  manifest 
fairly  early  in  the  medieval  times,  especially  to  some 
popes  who  began  to  argue  for  the  supremacy  of 
the  popes  over  councils.  In  spite  of  this  papal 
propaganda,  the  general  council  was  still  supreme 
at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  for,  just  a  hun- 
dred years  before,  the  Council  of  Constance  (1414- 
1418)  settled  the  Great  Schism  by  unseating  three 
popes  and  electing  another  on  the  declared  ground 
that  the  general  council  was  superior  to  the  pope. 
The  papal  succession  since  has  depended  upon  this 
action.  Yet  from  that  time  the  struggle  for  the  ex- 
altation of  the  pope  above  the  council  went  on 
until  the  Vatican  Council  (1870)  decreed  that  the 
pope  was  not  only  supreme,  but  infallible.  Thus 
Rome  has  subjected  the  general  council,  which  was 
the  second  historically  developed  agent  of  the  teach- 
ing office  of  the  church,  to  the  teaching  office  as 
embodied  in  the  infallible  pope. 

Protestantism  points  to  the  absence  from  the  New 
Testament  of  anything  like  a  general  council  or  its 
authority,  and  refuses,  therefore,  to  grant  that  de- 
crees of  councils  are  determinative.  Any  differ- 
ences between  such  decrees  and  scientifically  ascer- 
tained teachings  of  the  Scriptures  must  be  settled 
by  an  appeal  to  the  Scripture  alone,  for  there  is 
no  sound  reason  for  allowing  authority  to  mutually 
disagreeing  and  therefore  fallible  councils.  How- 
ever,   Protestants   hold   that   councils   often   inter- 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       131 


preted  Christian  truth  with  essential  correctness, 
but  such  respect  as  they  are  wiUing  to  pay  to 
decrees  of  councils  is  due  not  to  the  authority  of 
the  council,  but  to  that  of  the  Scriptures  which  the 
council  in  a  given  instance  correctly  interpreted. 

Final  authority  for  Romanism  now  rests  with  the 
pope, both  in  matters  of  teaching  and  administration, 
though  infallibility  is  claimed  only  for  the  teachmg 
function.     Coppens,  in  referring  to  the  decree  of 
the  Vatican  Council,  describes  the  pope's  infallibility 
thus :   "  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  decree  ex- 
plains  ex-cathedra  utterances   to  be  teachings   or 
definitions,   not   acts   of   government,   still   less   of 
personal  conduct;  and  only  those  teachings  which 
regard  faith  and  morals,  and  which  the  pope  ad- 
dresses to  the  whole  church  in  the  exercise  of  his 
supreme  apostolic  authority.     If  there  is  room  to 
doubt  whether  any  particular  utterance  fulfils  these 
conditions,   the   doubt   is   dissolved  by  considering 
the  circumstances  of  the  pronouncement.     If  doubt 
still  remains,  the  utterance  is  not  known  for  certain 
to  be  infallible."     This  definition  certainly  reveals 
infallibility  to  be  sufficiently  elusive  to  serve  any 
purpose  of  the  hierarchy. 

Though  Rome  claims  there  has  been  no  develop- 
ment,^^ the  decree  of  the  Vatican  Council  is  the  cul- 
mination of  Rome's  long  search  for  an  external  in- 
fallible authority.  The  claim  of  an  unchangeable 
and  infallible  authority  of  the  pope  is  the  logical 


13  See  Appendix,  Note  is- 


132  Positive  Protestantism 

and  absolutely  necessary  issue  of  the  Romanist  sys- 
tem. Without  this  claim  Rome  could  not  find  any 
ground  for  her  dogmas;  for  her  rejection,  for  the 
sake  of  her  own  dogmatic  interests,  of  scientifically 
reasonable  interpretations  of  the  Scriptures,  of 
tradition,  and  of  decrees  of  councils;  for  her  ex- 
communication of  those  who  refuse  to  submit  to 
her  arbitrary  authority  and  teachings;  or  for  her 
position  that  the  Roman  Church  is  the  sole  chan- 
nel of  grace.  Consequently  the  claim  of  universal, 
infallible  authority  is  the  heart  of  Romanism,  upon 
which  all  else  depends. 

As  scriptural  ground  for  the  universal  bishopric 
of  the  pope,  Romanism  claims  the  famous  "  rock 
and  keys  "  passage.  (Matt.  16  :  i8f.)  It  holds  that 
the  word  "  rock "  refers  to  Peter,  whose  name 
means  rock,  and  consequently  that  Jesus  here  de- 
clares that  Peter  was  to  be  the  foundation  of  the 
church.  This  contention  is  maintained  in  spite  of 
various  conflicting  interpretations  of  this  passage 
by  the  Church  Fathers,  though  Romanist  theory 
demands  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Fathers  for 
its  authoritative  teaching.  But  taking  the  position 
that  the  word  "  rock  "  refers  to  Peter  himself,  the 
passage  does  not  warrant  any  such  conclusion  as 
Rome  makes  from  it.  Jesus  merely  recognized 
the  leadership  which  Peter,  by  his  natural  personal 
abilities,  had  already  exercised  and  was  likely  to 
continue  to  exercise,  such  a  leadership  as  was  mani- 
fest in  the  incident  which  gave  occasion  for  the 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       133 

Master's  words.  Any  just  interpretation  of  the 
nature  of  this  leadership  thus  stated  by  Jesus  must 
consider  the  rebuke  which  the  Master  adminis- 
tered immediately  afterward  because  of  Peter's  lack 
of  appreciation  of  the  spiritual  nature  of  Jesus' 
Messiahship;  the  denial  of  Christ  by  Peter  and  its 
inevitable  effect  upon  his  standing  and  influence 
with  the  other  apostles;  Peter's  later  inability  to 
realize  the  universal  nature  of  the  gospel  (Acts 
15;  Gal.  2  :  1 1 -21);  and  the  position  which  the 
New  Testament  reveals  Peter  had  in  the  primitive 
church — a  position  far  from  supremacy  over  others. 
These  considerations  make  it  impossible  to  infer 
from  the  word  "  rock  "  the  conferring  upon  Peter 
of  any  superior  rank  or  powers.  Nor  can  the 
Romanist  position  be  maintained  by  emphasizing 
the  power  of  the  "  keys,"  for  this  same  power  of 
excommunication  and  declaring  on  the  basis  of  the 
gospel  the  forgiveness  of  sins  was  conferred  upon 
all  the  disciples  (John  20  :  22 f.)  and  was  indeed 
recognized  as  belonging  to  the  whole  body  of  Jesus' 
followers,  the  church.  (Matt.  18  :  15-20.)  There 
is,  therefore,  no  ground  for  the  contention  of  Rome 
that  the  words  "  rock  "  and  "  keys  "  in  the  passage 
under  discussion  teach  that  Peter  alone  was  given 
a  special  divine  authority  and  power.^* 

The   New   Testament   definitely   contradicts   the 
supposed  supremacy  of  Peter.    A  number  of  Jesus' 

1*  For  two  additional  passages  urged  by  Romanists,  see  Appendix, 
Note  16. 


134  Positive  Protestantism 

utterances  ^^  teach  such  humility  and  equality  of  fel- 
lowship and  service  as  are  absolutely  incompatible 
with  the  supposition  that  he  appointed  any  dis- 
ciple as  the  head  of  all  the  others  with  an  absolute 
authority  which  was  to  be  handed  down  by  him 
through  some  particular  group  of  Christ's  follow- 
ers. Many  facts  also  plainly  show  that  Peter  did 
not  actually  occupy  a  place  of  supremacy  in  the 
New  Testament  church.  James,  who  was  not  even 
one  of  the  original  twelve,  was  more  than  Peter 
preeminently  the  leader  at  Jerusalem  in  the  Jewish 
Christian  church.  (Acts  15.)  Church  tradition  cor- 
roborates the  New  Testament  evidence  as  to  James' 
position.  Among  the  Gentile  Christians  Paul  was 
the  great  and  recognized  leader.  In  asserting  his 
apostolic  authority  Paul  declared,  "  I  am  not  one 
whit  behind  the  very  chief  est  apostles "  (2  Cor. 
II  :  5).  Moreover,  when  certain  Judaizers  from 
Jerusalem  caused  trouble  in  the  church  at  Antioch, 
Peter  played  a  subordinate  and  rather  unenviable 
part.  If  the  contention  of  Rome  were  valid,  the 
matter  in  controversy  at  this  time  would  have  been 
immediately  referred  to  the  supreme  Peter,  pos- 
sessor of  the  infaUible  teaching  faculty.  Instead, 
Paul  rebuked  Peter  to  his  face.  (Gal.  2  :  11-21.) 
Later,  Paul  and  others  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  not  to 
Rome,  to  have  the  matter  discussed  by  the  brethren 
there  in  a  friendly  Christian  conference.     In  this 

15  See   Mark   9  :  36f.;    10  :  42-45;    John    13  :   1-20;    Matt.    20  :  27; 
23  :  8,  12. 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       135 

conference  Peter  set  forth  his  view  like  any  other 
member  of  the  church,  with  no  show  of  authority. 
(Acts  15  :  7-1 1.)  James  and  Paul  were  the  domi- 
nant figures.  James,  not  Peter,  suggested  the  com- 
promise which  was  agreed  upon  and  according  to 
which  Paul  was  to  work  among  Gentiles  while 
James  and  Peter  were  to  confine  their  efforts  to 
Jewish  regions.  This  agreement  was  set  forth, 
not  in  the  name  and  on  the  authority  of  Peter,  but 
in  the  name  of  ''  the  apostles,  the  elders  (pastors 
or  bishops),  and  the  brethren."  ^^  In  view  of  these 
facts  given  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  impossible 
to  suppose  that  the  primitive  church  knew  anything 
of  the  primacy  of  Peter  or  of  his  possession  of  any 
special,  not  to  say  universal,  authority  over  the 
church. 

Even  if  it  were  granted  that  the  New  Testament 
implies  that  Peter  personally  was  given  some  special 
position  and  authority,  there  is  no  shred  of  evi- 
dence in  the  New  Testament  or  elsewhere  that  Peter 
ever  conferred,  or  was  instructed  to  confer,  or  had 
the  power  to  confer,  universal  authority  over  the 
church  upon  the  Roman  church  or  the  bishop  of 
Rome.  Consequently,  one  must  conclude  that  there 
is  no  foundation  in  the  teaching  or  the  facts  of  the 
New  Testament  for  Rome's  claim  that  the  pope  is 

1"  This  agreement  was  not  even  in  the  natu'-e  of  a  decree  of  a 
general  council.  No  call  to  all  the  bishops  or  pastors  was  made,  and 
there  is  no  evidence  that  such  were  present  except,  as  they  were 
connected  either  with  the  Jerusalem  or  the  Antioch  church.  Again, 
it  is  clear  that  the  laymen  had  a  voice  in  the  agreement,  since  it  is 
put  forth  in  their  name  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  apostles  and  elders. 


136  Positive  Protestantism 

the  universal  bishop  of  the  Christian  church  ap- 
pointed by  God  with  universal  authority. 

The  Romanist  claim  also  lacks  any  positive  his- 
torical support.^^  On  the  other  hand,  certain  facts  ^^ 
positively  disprove  the  validity  of  Rome's  claim. 
Many  times  attempts  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  to 
assert  authority  were  resisted  and  the  authority 
denied.  Pope  Gregory  the  Great  (590-604)  rebuked 
John,  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  for  assuming  the 
title  of  '*  universal  bishop,"  and  utterly  repudiated 
any  one's  claim  to  such  a  title  or  authority.  Many 
facts  also  concerning  the  calling  of  general  councils, 
the  presiding  over  them  by  emperors  rather  than 
by  popes,  and  the  confirmation  of  their  decrees  by 
the  emperor  further  illustrate  the  real  situation  in 
the  early  church  as  lacking  recognition  of  the  pope 
as  universal  bishop.  The  persistent  refusal  of  the 
Celtic  and  Eastern  churches  to  acknowledge  the 
supremacy  of  Rome  is  another  indication.  Con- 
sequently it  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  the  pope 
has  always  and  universally  been  recognized  as  the 
bishop  of  the  church  with  supreme  authority. 

The  lack  of  any  ground,  scriptural,  historical,  or 
reasonable,  for  the  belief  in  the  universal  authority 
of  the  pope  undermines  of  itself  the  foundation 
for  the  claim  of  infallibility.  But  even  were  we 
to  suppose  that  the  pope  possesses  universal  au- 

"  For  the  Romanist  method  of  arguing  from  historical  data  on 
this  point,  see  Appendix,  Note  17. 

^^  For  the  evidence  for  this  and  other  conclusions  of  this  para- 
graph, see  Appendix,  Note  15. 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       137 

thority  as  bishop  over  all  Christendom,  it  would 
still  be  necessary  for  Romanism  to  prove  that  this 
authority  is  infallible.  Here  too,  scriptural  and 
historical  evidence  is  lacking.  During  the  first 
thousand  years  of  Christianity  there  is  no  sug- 
gestion of  such  infallibility,  and  the  facts  just 
considered  indicate  clearly  that  conviction  as  to 
infallibility  was  entirely  wanting.  Had  such  a  con- 
viction and  recognition  existed  during  that  thou- 
sand years,  history  would  not  tell  its  story  of  bitter 
doctrinal  conflicts,  for  all  controversies  would  have 
been  settled  very  simply  by  an  appeal  to  the  infalli- 
ble pope.  But  actually  the  church  took  no  such 
method  for  settling  its  difficulties,  but  rather  de- 
pended for  a  long  while  merely  upon  the  consensus 
of  Christian  opinion  and  then  upon  the  decrees  of 
general  councils.  Indeed,  there  is  no  ground  upon 
which  Romanism  can  support  its  dogma  of  infalli- 
bility save  the  mere  decree  of  the  Vatican  Council 
(A.  D.  1870),  which  by  its  virtual  annulling  of  the 
declaration  of  the  Council  of  Constance  as  to  the 
supremacy  of  the  general  council  over  popes  in- 
validates the  papal  succession  since  A.  D.  141 5. 

The  case  of  infallibility  might  be  left  here  in 
utter  collapse  for  want  of  evidence,  but  rejection 
of  it  is  further  warranted  by  the  facts  which  show 
the  fallibility  of  the  teaching  office  whether  em- 
bodied in  tradition,  the  general  council,  or  the  pope. 
In  so  far  as  the  claim  of  infallibility  rests  upon  the 
assumption  of  the  unchangeability  of  the  church's 


138  Positive  Protestantism 

traditional  practice  and  dogmas,  it  is  invalidated 
by  the  very  development  of  the  bishopric  and  papacy 
itself  briefly  outlined  above  and  the  development  of 
the  conception  of  the  proper  embodiment  of  the 
teaching  office  itself.  This  conclusion  is  strength- 
ened by  recalling  such  a  well-known  fact  as  the 
vacillation  of  the  church  with  reference  to  per- 
mitting the  laity  the  privilege  of  the  cup  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Both  as  a  matter  of  doctrine  and 
of  administration  the  church  has  maintained  both 
sides  of  the  controversy. 

The  fallibility  of  general  councils  referred  to 
above/^  as  shown  by  the  mutual  disagreements  of 
councils,  is  put  beyond  question  by  the  circum- 
stances of  the  Great  Schism,  which  began  in  A.  D. 
1378  with  a  dispute  as  to  which  of  two  rivals  was 
the  valid  pope  and  continued  with  mutually  anathe- 
matizing popes  ^^  until  the  Council  of  Constance 
(1414-1418).  In  1409  the  Council  of  Pisa  deposed 
both  popes  then  reigning  and  elected  a  third,  but 
since  the  two  contestants  would  not  abdicate,  there 
were  now  three  popes  anathematizing  and  excom- 
municating one  another.  The  Council  of  Constance 
in  1415  deposed  all  three — one  of  whom,  however, 
maintained  his  contention  till  his  death — and  elected 
a  fourth.  To  validate  this  action  it  was  necessary 
for  the  church  to  accept  the  decree  of  a  general 

19  See  footnote  on  p.  129;  also  Appendix,  Note  9. 

^^  The  Great  Schism  does  not  give  us  the  first  example  of  rival 
popes,  for  the  boy  Pope  Benedict  X  was  set  up  in  1058  in  opposition 
to  Pope  Stephen  IX. 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       139 

council  as  superior  to  the  authority  of  the  pope. 
The  council,  therefore,  declared  the  supremacy  of 
the  council.  Upon  this  declaration  and  action  has 
depended  the  papal  succession  since.  Yet  the  Vati- 
can Council,  by  its  own  supreme  authority  as  a 
general  council,  decreed  the  supremacy  of  the  pope 
and  his  infallible  teaching  power  as  a  dogma  of 
the  church.  This  reversal  and  circular  argument 
make  it  impossible  to  believe  that  the  general  coun- 
cils have  acted  unchangeably  or  infallibly.  The  sub- 
ordinating of  the  decrees  of  councils  to  the  pope's 
authority,  and  also  to  the  selecting  function  of  the 
teaching  office  are  conclusive  admissions  that  gen- 
eral councils  have  been  fallible. 

Likewise,  abundant  evidence  shows  popes  to  have 
been  fallible  even  in  statements  plainly  meant  to 
be  ex  cathedrar'^  Popes  have  disagreed  as  to  the 
interpretation  of  Scripture,  as,  for  example,  Gregory 
the  Great  and  Leo  XIII  in  reference  to  the  famous 
'"  rock  "  passage,  upon  which  so  much  depends  for 
Romanism.  Gregory  held  the  word  to  refer  to 
Peter's  confession,  which  cuts  the  ground  entirely 
from  under  the  Romanist  claim  based  on  this  pas- 
sage. Leo  held  to  the  reference  to  Peter  himself. 
IMoreover,  popes  have  been  officially  declared  here- 
tics as  to  doctrines  which  they  had  put  forth  under 
their  papal  authority.^^     In   addition,   popes  have 

21  See  Appendix,  Note  i8. 

22  For  a  somewhat  detailed  statement  of  the  evidence,  see  Appen- 
dix, Note  18. 


140  Positive  Protestantism 

themselves  declared  that  popes  are  fallible.  Bene- 
dict XIV  laughingly  once  said,  "  If  it  is  true  that  all 
justice  and  all  truth  is  hidden  in  the  shrine  of  my 
breast,  yet  I  have  never  been  able  to  find  the  key 
to  it."  It  is  quite  impossible,  therefore,  to  accept 
the  doctrine  of  the  infallibility  of  the  pope. 

This  unscriptural,  unhistorical,  and  unreasonable 
dogma  of  infallibility  rests  solely  on  the  decree  of 
the  Vatican  Council.  An  understanding  of  how  this 
decree  was  secured  strengthens  the  ground  for  re- 
jecting it.  There  was  no  demand  in  the  Roman 
Church  at  large  for  a  pronouncement  upon  this  mat- 
ter. When,  about  two  generations  before  the  Vati- 
can Council,  the  reestablished  and  rehabilitated 
order  of  the  Jesuits  undertook  the  patronage  of 
this  conception,  it  was  merely  a  pious  opinion  held 
by  some,  but  not  compulsory  for  all  Romanists. 
But  the  Roman  Curia  was  determined  to  raise  this 
opinion  to  a  dogma  of  the  church,  and  though  there 
was  strong  opposition  to  this  exaltation  when  the 
Vatican  Council  gathered,  the  result  was  a  fore- 
gone conclusion.  For  a  while  unanimous  consent 
could  not  be  had  because  of  the  presence  of  many 
strong,  able,  and  active  opponents  of  the  pronounce- 
ment. However,  the  voting  opposition  gradually 
melted  away,  for  many  thought  it  more  prudent 
to  go  home  than  to  stay,  vote  against  the  decree, 
and  take  the  consequences.  Thus  was  achieved  the 
declaration  of  that  dogma  which  is  the  foundation 
of  Romanism  and  which  every  Romanist  must  be- 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       141 

lieve  on  pain  of  eternal  damnation.  Protestantism 
repudiates  it,  not  only  because  it  is  an  unsupported 
and  unwarranted  assumption,  but  also  because  the 
application  of  such  a  universal  and  absolute  author- 
ity by  the  papacy  would,  if  anything  like  the  appli- 
cation of  the  past,  be  too  terrible  to  contemplate 
were  Rqme  ever  again  to  control  the  secular  force 
necessary  to  compel  the  working  of  her  will. 

Protestantism  insists  on  freedom  from  this  ex- 
ternal authority  of  tradition,  councils,  and  papal 
declarations,  or  indeed  of  any  ecclesiastical  author- 
ity which  sets  aside  or  overrules  the  Scripture. 
Modern  Protestantism  affirms  with  the  utmost  con- 
fidence that  authority  in  religion  arises  out  of  the 
conviction  of  faith  which  is  the  individual  soul's 
response  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
Scripture  teaching.  For  Protestantism,  therefore, 
Scripture  -^  is  the  basis  of  all  religious  authority  for 
Christian  thinking  and  life.  In  contrast  with  Rome's 
insistence  on  the  necessity  of  an  infallible  teaching 
organ  to  interpret  Scripture,  Protestantism  asserts 
that  any  one  of  ordinary  intelligence  can  read  the 
Bible  and  understand  it  with  sufficient  exactness  to 
be  led  to  a  saving  faith  and  to  a  life  in  accordance 
with  that  faith.  Yet  Protestantism  does  not  teach, 
as  some  Romanists  seem  so  often  to  imply,  that 
each  person  is  to  interpret  the  Scripture  as  he 
pleases.    Rather  each  is  to  interpret  as  he  conscien- 

23  For  the  differences  in  the  canon  of  Scripture  recognized  by 
Protestants  and  Romanists,  see  Appendix,  Note  19. 


142  Positive  Protestantism 

tiously  sees  the  evidence.  For  this  interpretation 
the  reader  will  have  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who 
has  been  promised  to  all  who  have  faith.  (John 
16  :  13;  Rom.  8  :  14.)  Moreover,  the  best  avail- 
able results  of  scientific  scholarship  are  to  be  used 
in  reaching  a  conclusion,  but  no  learned  views  are 
compulsory  as  against  conscientious  and  indepen- 
dent private  judgment  well  based  iipon  evidence. 
For  such  use  of  the  Scriptures  no  infallible  inter- 
pretative organ  is  necessary.  The  teachings  of  the 
New  Testament  lead  us  to  expect,  and  the  experi- 
ence of  multitudes  of  Christians  of  all  ages  proves, 
that  such  use  of  the  Scriptures  as  Protestantism 
contends  for  leads  to  real  Christian  life.  Besides, 
Protestantism  has  no  fear  of  losing  its  case  by 
leaving  the  Bible  open  to  all  or  by  turning  people 
loose  to  read  and  interpret  freely  as  best  they  can. 
Indeed,  it  urges  that  very  process,  confident  of  the 
outcome. 

The  Protestant  use  of  Scripture  does  not  lead, 
as  Romanists  so  often  contend,  to  a  confusion  which 
makes  Protestant  churches  ineffectual  in  meeting 
the  religious  needs  of  people.  To  be  sure,  there  are 
differences  of  interpretation  among  Protestants  just 
as  there  are  among  Romanists  and  have  always 
been  among  Christians.  Difference  of  interpreta- 
tion leads  inevitably  to  difference  of  theological  con- 
ception, but  the  differences  existing  among  Protes- 
tants are  not  greater  than  may  be  illustrated  from 
the  history  of  the  whole  church,  for  there  have  been 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       143 

many  controversies  and  many  changes  in  doctrine 
and  practice.  It  is  as  difficult  to  make  a  systematic 
statement  of  Romanism  by  studying  tradition,-  de- 
crees of  councils,  declarations  of  popes,  and  opin- 
ions of  theologians,  and  crystallizing  the  Romanist 
positions,  as  it  is  to  get  a  similar  presentation  of 
Protestant  teaching.  This  is  true  in  spite  of  Rome's 
claimed  power  to  settle  all  matters  infallibly.  But 
even  if  there  were  greater  confusion  among  Prot- 
estant theologians,  it  would  not  be  of  such  great 
moment  as  any  difference  at  all  in  Romanism  is  to 
the  Romanist  system,  for  Protestantism  does  not 
require  an  absolutely  uniform  statement  of  doc- 
trine. The  Protestant  conception  of  faith,  as  more 
volitional  than  intellectual,  allows  differences  of 
opinion,  while  it  strives  for  a  unity  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ  which  brings  men  into  living  relationship 
with  God.  Earnest,  conscientious  Scripture  reading 
will  help  bring  this  unity  and  general  attainment  of 
Christian  life. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Protestant  freedom,  instead 
of  leading  to  endless  confusion  on  account  of  igno- 
rance, has  resulted  in  a  great  advance  for  theological 
learning.  Not  only  have  the  greatest  theological 
scholars  of  the  last  four  hundred  years  been  Prot- 
estants, it  has  been  Protestant  scholars  who  have 
created  and  carried  forward  many  of  the  modern 
theological  and  biblical  sciences.^*  Protestant  schol- 
ars can  seek  for  the  truth  unhampered  by  any  con- 

2*  See  Appendix,  Note  20. 


144  Positive  Protestantism 

trolling  ecclesiastical  authority,  whether  they  search 
in  the  theological  and  biblical  fields  or  in  those  of 
other  spheres  of  knowledge.  Romanists  are  ever 
subject  to  the  control  of  the  teaching  office  of  the 
church,  and  can  only  find  as  true  what  the  church 
approves  as  such. 

The  contrast  between  the  spirit  of  Romanist 
bondage  and  Protestant  freedom  in  questions  of 
authority  is  to  be  seen  in  the  respective  attitudes  of 
Fenelon  and  Luther.  Fenelon,  a  great  seventeenth 
century  leader  in  France,  wrote  an  edifying  book. 
Through  Bossuet,  a  rival  leader,  the  book  was  put 
upon  the  Index,  and  a  letter  of  condemnation  was 
sent  to  Fenelon.  The  letter  arrived  just  as  Fenelon 
was  ascending  the  pulpit.  He  at  once  changed  his 
sermon,  and  declared  the  necessity  of  submitting 
to  the  pope,  though  he  was  not  yet  informed  as  to 
why  his  book  was  condemned.  He  forbade  any 
one  to  read  the  book,  and  had  burned  such  copies 
as  he  could  secure.  All  of  this  he  did  without  hav- 
ing presented  to  his  own  mind  any  reasons  for 
changing  the  statements  of  his  book  save  the  com- 
mand of  the  pope.  What  a  contrast  to  Luther  at 
Worms !  There  the  humble  Wittenberg  monk  stood 
true  to  his  conscientious  convictions  in  spite  of  the 
presence  of  the  great  personages  of  the  empire  and 
church,  including  the  emperor  himself,  and  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  the  pope  had  already  excommuni- 
cated him.  He  made  no  recantation  as  was  de- 
manded, and  when  he  declared,  "Here  stand  I;  I 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       145 

can  do  nought  else,  God  help  me,"  he  gave  an  im- 
mortal epitome  of  Protestant  freedom  in  contrast 
to  Romanist  compulsion  and  restriction  of  con- 
science. 

And,  after  all,  Romanism  is  in  the  end  forced  to 
the  same  place  practically  as  Protestantism.  Even 
in  order  to  yield  to  the  authority  of  Rome,  unless 
one  acts  blindly  one  must  first  be  convinced  by  the 
use  of  his  private,  individual  judgment  of  the  justice 
of  Rome's  claims  to  power.  Else,  why  do  Roman- 
ists make  any  argument  at  all.  If  private  D'udg- 
ment  and  freedom  is  valid  for  accepting  Romanism, 
so  is  it  for  rejecting  it  in  part  or  in  whole.  Thus 
the  entire  question  boils  down  to  this,  whether  in 
reaching  out  for  God  and  his  life  one  must  come 
to  Rome  and  take  what  she  says  just  because  she 
says  it,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  shall  go  to  the  Scrip- 
ture for  guidance  and  use  all  other  corroborating 
evidence  which  is  available,  and  then  in  a  reasonable 
way  reach  a  conclusion.  Protestantism  with  the 
modern  world  accepts  the  latter  method,  and  Rome 
herself  cannot  escape  the  necessity  of  employing  it 
in  presentation  of  appeal  for  acceptance  of  her 
claims. 

The  acceptance  of  the  Protestant  conception  of 
the  seat  of  religious  authority  necessarily  leads  to 
the  scrutiny  of  Rome's  claim  that  she  should  be 
given  universal  recognition  as  the  sole  channel  of 
divine  grace.  What  are  the  facts  as  to  this  claim, 
and  what  may  be  said  in  reply  ? 

K 


146  Positive  Protestantism 


IV.   THE   SOLE   CHANNEL 

In  contrast  to  Romanism,  Protestants  teach  a  broad 
inclusiveness  of  the  Christian  church,  as  has  al- 
ready been  stated.  Many  Roman  CathoHcs,  includ- 
ing some  recognized  teachers,  admit,  as  do  all  intel- 
ligent persons,  the  reprehensibility  of  bigotry,  and 
entertain  the  broader  view  that  Protestants  who 
are  faithful  to  their  convictions  may  be  saved.  In 
this  opinion  they  are  broader  and  more  charitable 
than  their  church.  Nothing  can  be  clearer  in  Ro- 
manist teaching  than  the  authoritative  declarations  as 
to  Rome's  sole  possession  of  the  channel  of  grace.^^ 
"  As  the  Fourth  Lateran  Council  puts  it, '  Out  of  the 
church  no  man  is  saved.'  "  ^^  The  Syllabus  of  Er- 
rors (1864)  condemns  the  error  that  "we  may  en- 
tertain at  least  a  well-founded  hope  for  the  eternal 
salvation  of  all  those  who  are  in  no  manner  in  the 
true  church  of  Christ."  These  and  many  other 
authoritative  statements  show  what  the  Romanist 
position  is. 

No  refutation  of  such  a  position  is  necessary  for  a 
modern  mind,  but  it  is  worth  while  calling  attention 
to  the  invalidity  of  the  appeal  of  the  Romanist  argu- 
ment to  certain  passages  of  Scripture.  These  pas- 
sages refer  to  the  exclusion  of  some  members  by 
the  New  Testament  church.  They  certainly  imply 
that  there  are  just  grounds  for  excluding  church- 

-^  See  Appendix,  Note  21. 
2^  Quoted  by  Coppens,  p.  69. 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       147 

members.  But  there  is  not  the  sHghtest  hint  that 
mere  difference  of  theological  opinions,  which  in 
themselves  are  not  incompatible  with  loyalty  to 
Christ,  and  God,  are  such  grounds,  and,  least  of  all, 
is  there  any  support  for  supposing  that  difference 
from  the  Roman  Church  is  ground  for  excluding 
men  from  communion  with  God. 

If  any  one  supposes  that  this  position  of  Rome  is 
only  an  old  one,  no  longer  really  held,  let  him  re- 
call the  claim  of  Rome  to  unchangeability.^^  Let 
him  estimate  the  significance  also  of  the  following 
Romanist  statements.  Cardinal  Gibbons  says,  "  The 
Catholic  Church  alone  teaches  doctrines  which  are 
in  all  respects  identical  with  those  of  the  first  teach- 
ers of  the  gospel."  Such  bigotry  is  for  Romanists 
only  faithfulness  to  their  convictions,  as  Coppens 
states :  "  Those  who  teach  that  in  religious  matters 
every  one  should  judge  for  himself  are  irrational 
and  bigoted  when  they  condemn  the  belief  of  others ; 
but  whoever  believes  in  '  one  fold  and  one  shepherd  ' 
must  look  upon  schism  and  heresy  as  most  deplor- 
able evils;  and  the  commissioned  guardian  of  the 
'  one  faith '  must  denounce  all  who  assail  its  unity." 
Accordingly,  the  bigots  are  those  who,  while  holding 
and  stating  strong  convictions,  nevertheless  are  suf- 
ficiently broad  to  be  charitable  toward  those  who 
differ  from  them  in  religious  matters,  while  the  un- 
bigoted  attitude  is  that  of  denunciation  of  all  who 
differ.     Romanists  seem  entirely  oblivious  of  the 

"  See  Appendix,  Note  21. 


148  Positive  Protestantism 

fact  that  their  own  statement  makes  their  consis- 
tency the  most  bigoted  position  possible. 

Coppens  also  says :  "  Though  many  of  their  mem- 
bers [Protestant  sects]  no  doubt  lead  good  lives  ac- 
cording to  their  imperfect  lights,  few  claim  heroism 
or  miracles,  and  their  doctrines  of  faith  or  justifica- 
tion do  not  tend  to  holiness.  Of  course  the  ex- 
ceptional virtue  of  a  few  would  not  be  a  mark  of 
the  holiness  of  their  sect."  This  statement  is  made 
apparently  in  all  seriousness  in  a  work  which  is 
intended  to  be  a  text-book  on  Romanist  teaching 
for  the  use  of  Romanist  young  people.  A  similar 
absurdity  is  the  statement  of  Perrone :  "  The  more 
innocent  the  life  of  a  Catholic  is,  the  more  clearly 
he  adheres  to  his  church ;  while  his  attachment  be- 
comes looser  in  proportion  as  he  surrenders  him- 
self to  depraved  habits.  On  the  other  hand,  a  Prot- 
estant, the  more  depraved  his  heart  and  unre- 
strained his  life,  clings  so  much  the  closer  to  his 
sect;  whereas  the  more  distinguished  he  is  for 
blamelessness  of  morals  the  more  doubtful  he  be- 
comes as  to  the  truth  of  his  sect,  and  so  comes 
over  to  the  Catholic  religion.'"  All  of  this  is  non- 
sense, and  reveals  that  Romanists  who  formally 
set  out  Romanist  ideas  are  as  ignorant  of  Protes- 
tants and  Protestantism  as  some  irresponsible  Prot- 
estants are  with  reference  to  Romanists  and  Roman- 
ism. Even  a  Romanist  could  address  the  Vatican 
Council  thus :  "  The  Saviour  practised  in  word  and 
deed  gentleness,  meekness,  forgiveness.    What  do 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       149 

we  do  as  opposed  to  this?  What  is  demanded  of 
us  ?  We  condemn ;  we  put  on  the  Index ;  we  shriek, 
'  Heresy,  Schism ! '  "  Such  a  remonstrance  shows 
that  narrowness  persists  in  Romanism  and  official 
Romanists  down  to  the  present. 

How  much  more  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of 
the  Ne'w  Testament  and  with  the  modern  mind  is 
the  broad  view  of  Protestantism!  This  view  not 
only  appeals  by  its  breadth,  but  it  also  assures  by 
the  certainty  which  it  gives  as  to  spiritual  life. 
Thus  Protestantism  reaches  the  goal  which  Roman- 
ism with  its  entire  conception  of  the  church  and  its 
authority  does  not. 

The  crowning  consideration  of  Rome  is  that  only 
in  the  one  true  Catholic  Church,  with  her  divinely 
ordained  priesthood  and  apostolic  succession  and 
with  its  infallible  authority,  can  religious  certainty 
be  had.  But  in  view  of  such  a  claim,  what  shall 
we  say  of  the  fact  that  Luther,  while  still  a  most 
sincere,  devout,  earnest,  and  loyal  son  of  the  church, 
could  find  no  certainty  in  all  the  Romanist  system 
to  satisfy  the  need  of  his  soul?  What  shall  we 
say  of  the  similar  experience  of  Loyola,  the  founder 
of  the  Jesuits,  who  could  find  no  spiritual  satisfac- 
tion until,  like  Luther,  he  had  personally  surren- 
dered to  God  through  faith?  What  shall  we  say 
too,  of  the  declaration  of  Romanists  that  no  one 
can  be  sure  of  his  personal  salvation?  What  shall 
we  say  of  the  teaching  that  the  very  infallibility  of 
the  pope  eludes  us  unless  we  can  be  certain  that 


150  Positive  Protestantism 

the  pope  intended  an  utterance  as  infallible,  whether 
he  stated  his  intention  or  not?  How  shall  the 
ordinary  Christian  be  without  doubt  when,  for  ex- 
ample. Cardinal  Manning  declares  that  the  "  syl- 
labus of  1864  was  part  of  the  supreme  and  infalli- 
ble teaching  of  the  Church,"  but  Cardinal  Newman 
was  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  of  "  no  dogmatic 
force  "  ?  What  shall  we  say  of  the  fact  that,  despite 
claimed  infallible  power  to  teach,  no  full  and  com- 
prehensive codification  of  the  teachings  of  Roman- 
ism has  ever  been  put  forth  by  the  infallible  teach- 
ing magisterium,  but  all,  in  and  out  of  the  church, 
are  left  to  gather  the  church's  teaching  from  the 
various  authoritative  sources  ?  Why  has  the  Roman 
Curia  with  its  infallible  power  studiously  avoided, 
so  far  as  can  be  judged,  pronouncements  upon  mat- 
ters in  dispute  between  various  orders,  such  as  the 
Dominicans  and  Franciscans?  Or,  what  shall  we 
say  of  the  doctrine  of  intention?  If  the  grace  of 
the  sacraments  is  conveyed  only  when  the  priest  so 
intended,  as  Romanism  holds,  how  can  the  recipient 
be  sure  of  the  unannounced  intention  of  the  priest, 
and  how,  then,  can  he  be  sure  that  he  has  received 
this  grace  without  which  he  must  be  lost  and  for  the 
certainty  of  whose  reception  the  entire  Romanist 
system  exists?  And,  further,  how  does  this  doc- 
trine of  intention  affect  the  certainty  of  the  entire 
Romanist  structure,  since,  at  some  vital  point  or 
points  of  the  transmission  of  apostolic  succession,  a 
bishop   may   not  have   intended  to   convey  grace? 


Function  and  Authority  of  the  Church       151 

Perrone  answers  this  question,  as  in  the  end  every 
Romanist  must  answer  all  questions  of  certainty, 
when  he  says  we  "  must  trust  Providence."  But 
in  such  an  answer  Romanism  comes  over  to  the 
Protestant  ground  of  certainty,  namely,  faith  in 
God.  Thus  the  boasted  certainty  of  the  infallible 
system  of  Romanism  turns  out  to  be  a  slippery, 
elusive  thing  and  ends  in  a  confession  of  the  worth 
of  the  Protestant  basis  of  surety  in  religion. 

Protestant  teaching  affirms  that  when  men  take 
toward  God  the  attitude  of  faith,  there  comes  a  fel- 
lowship with  God  which  in  itself  begets  religious 
certainty.  There  is  no  surer  certainty  than  that 
which  arises  out  of  one's  ovvm  experience.  So  Paul's 
statement,  ''  The  Spirit  himself  beareth  witness  with 
our  spirit,  that  we  are  children  of  God "  (Rom. 
8  :  16),  becomes  in  part  the  scriptural  ground  of 
that  certainty  which  every  possessor  of  faith  in 
God  may  attain  in  his  own  personal  experience. 
Among  other  passages  which  base  certainty  in  faith 
is  Jesus'  utterance,  "  He  that  heareth  my  words, 
and  believeth  (hath  faith  in)  him  that  sent  me, 
hath  eternal  life,  and  cometh  not  into  judgment,  but 
hath  passed  out  of  death  into  life"  (John  5  :  24). 
The  simple  fact  which  the  history  of  Christianity, 
and  particularly  of  the  Protestant  churches,  reveals 
is  that  millions  of  men  have  out  of  their  simple 
faith  in  God  as  their  Father  come  to  a  certainty 
of  their  relationship  to  him  controlling  for  life. 
What  better  certainty  is  needed?     Surely  no  other 


152  Positive  Protestantism 

kind  can  issue  in  more  practical  Christian  living 
than  has  been  manifested  in  Protestant  character 
and  church  work.  Romanism  fails  utterly  to  secure 
certainty  in  any  sense,  while  Protestantism  at  least 
has  found  the  way  to  certainty  sufficient  for  Chris- 
tian living.  It  is  this  kind  of  certainty  that  the  New 
Testament  gives  and  the  world  needs. 


CHAPTER  V 

ROMANIST   DEFORMITIES   AND    PROTESTANT 
IMPLICATIONS 

For  the  sake  of  leaving  undisturbed  the  progress 
of  the  main  lines  of  thought  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ters, some  matters  have  been  left  to  be  considered 
here  which  are  really  connected  with  various  pre- 
ceding discussions.  One  of  these  is  the  Protestant 
estimate  of  monasticism  and  its  vows. 

Monasticism  is  not  of  Christian  origin,  but  has 
existed  in  paganism  before  and  after  Christ.  It 
connects  very  directly  with  the  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion by  meritorious  works.  Alonastic  vows  are 
works  of  supererogation,  and  the  many  religious 
activities  advised  and  required  by  the  Church  are 
additional  meritorious  works  for  which  the  monk 
has  more  time  than  others.  Chateaubriand,  the 
French  author  and  statesman,  once  said,  "  I  have 
not  reached  the  goal ;  I  have  not  put  on  the  monk's 
cowl."  The  Romanist  ideal  of  piety  is  the  piety 
of  "  the  religious  "  in  the  cloister,  and  those  outside 
must  be  contented  with  a  lesser  piety  than  is  pos- 
sible for  these. 

Undoubtedly  monks  and  the  like  have  always  pos- 
sessed  more   time   than   others    for   the   activities 

153 


154  Positive  Protestantism 

which  Romanism  has  regarded  as  pious.  But  Prot- 
estantism does  not  regard  these  activities  highly  for 
the  reasons  stated  above  in  the  chapter  on  legal- 
ism. In  medieval  times  monastic  orders  were,  to 
be  sure,  of  real  value  to  agriculture  in  the  reclama- 
tion of  land  and  in  the  development  of  agricultural 
knowledge ;  to  literature,  in  preserving  and  copying 
manuscripts;  to  art,  in  a  number  of  ways;  to  Chris- 
tian missions,  and  to  education.  These,  however, 
were  not  the  main  but  the  incidental  reasons  for 
the  existence  of  the  orders.  Moreover,  the  orders 
invariably  became  rich,  and  their  riches  corrupted 
them;  thus  was  the  vow  of  poverty  brought  to 
nought.  Also,  these  institutions  which  were  in- 
tended to  take  the  sex  relation  out  of  the  physical 
realm  and  make  of  it  a  spiritual  and  etherealized, 
beautiful  thing,  came  to  be,  because  of  inherent 
tendencies,  the  center  of  moral  corruption  which 
had  in  the  Reformation  time  gone  beyond  descrip- 
tion and  modern  belief.  Thus  was  celibacy  nega- 
tived in  the  monastery's  most  prosperous  period. 
In  one  order  at  least,  that  of  the  Jesuits,  which 
now  seems  to  dominate  Romanism,  the  vow  of 
obedience  worked  out  to  such  an  impossible  moral 
code  and  to  such  vicious  activities  that  even  Rome 
itself  could  not  abide  the  order.^  Clement  XIV, 
in  1773,  dissolved  it,  and  it  did  not  secure  restoration 
until  1814.    In  addition  to  these  failures  of  monas- 

1  The  Jesuits  have  been  expelled  from  time  to  time  from  nearly 
every  Roman  Catholic  country  in  the  world,  and  from  all  of  the 
European  lands. 


Romanist  Deformities  155 

ticism  in  its  essential  aims,  the  monasteries  have 
been  the  seats  of  the  grossest  superstitious  ideas  and 
practices.  Surely  the  balance  between  the  good  and 
the  evil  of  them  weighs  heavily  toward  evil. 

But  the  main  objection  of  Protestantism  to  mo- 
nasticism  is  that  the  monastic  ideal  is  against  nature 
and  contrary  to  the  example  of  Jesus  and  the  apos- 
tles who  hved  strongly  in  the  common  walks  of 
life.  If  an  ideal  is  really  such,  it  ought  to  bear 
universal  application;  but  thus  to  apply  one  ele- 
ment of  monasticism,  namely,  celibacy,  would  de- 
populate the  world.  The  truest  and  highest  type  of 
Christian  life  is  achieved,  not  in  the  shelter  of 
the  cloister,  but  in  the  hot  struggle  of  every-day 
living.  Furthermore,  Protestantism  holds  as  im- 
moral the  taking  of  irrevocable  vows  at  a  young, 
tender,  and  unsophisticated  age,^  for  this  puts  the 
future  In  fetters.  At  such  an  age,  or  indeed  at 
what  age,  is  such  a  relinquishment  of  life  and  its 
opportunities  for  developing  character  by  struggle 
in  the  world  justifiable?  A  real  morality  will  give 
men  certain  fundamental  and  guiding  principles  as 
a  basis  of  life,  yet  will  leave  them  free  to  meet 
the  changing  exigencies  of  human  existence.  The 
ideal  of  the  Christian  in  the  world,  freely  fighting 
the  battle  of  life  with  God's  help  on  the  basis  of 
Jesus'  actual  teaching  and  in  his  spirit  of  faith  in 
God,  Protestantism  urges  over  against  the  monastic 
ideal  of  Romanism. 

-  Rome  names  sixteen  for  boys  and  twelve  for  girls. 


156  Positive  Protestantism 

One  of  the  practices  of  the  monks  and  other 
Romanists  has  been  veneration  and  invocation  of 
the  saints.  This  practice  began  quite  early  in  the 
history  of  the  church  after  the  fate  of  martyrs 
came  to  impress  deeply  the  minds  of  Christians. 
Later  the  achievement  of  any  special  virtue  was 
enough  to  raise  a  prominent  person  to  a  kind  of 
veneration.  When  canonization  of  saints  came 
under  regulation,  other  marks,  such  as  the  working 
of  at  least  two  miracles,  were  required.  In  later 
times  political  influences  and  payments  of  money 
had  their  part  in  the  final  decision  as  to  canonization 
which  rested  with  the  pope.  Some  Romanists  con- 
ceive that  the  pope  is  merely  guided  to  declare  the 
exaltation  to  sainthood  which  heaven  has  already 
decreed.  Others  consider  that  the  pope's  decision 
exalts,  so  that  through  the  authority  to  canonize  the 
pope  controls  the  blessings  of  heaven  as  through 
the  power  of  indulgences  he  controls  the  torments 
of  purgatory.  Canonized  saints  are  to  be  venerated 
and  their  intercession  with  God  on  behalf  of  the 
supplicators  is  to  be  invoked  because  deemed  valu- 
able just  as  a  friend's  prayers  in  this  world  are 
worthful;  only  the  influence  of  the  saints  with  God 
is  much  greater  than  an  earthly  friend's  can  be. 
Veneration  and  invocation  of  the  saints  are  not  com- 
pulsory, yet,  because  of  the  authoritative  statements 
of  the  church,  every  Romanist  must  believe  in  these 
practices  though  not  following  them,  and  If  any  one 
renounces  them  he  incurs  Rome's  displeasure. 


Romanist  Deformities  157 


Protestantism  rejects  veneration  and  invocation 
of  the  saints  in  the  first  place  because  there  is 
no  scriptural  ground  for  it.  Leaving  aside  the  one 
apocryphal  passage  (2  Mace.  12  :  43f.),  which  Prot- 
estantism does  not  accept  as  Scripture  since  it  is 
not  a  part  of  the  Scripture  canon,^  Cardinal  Gib- 
bons' asserted  wealth  of  quoted  Scripture  is  almost 
entirely  instances  of  men  in  this  world  praying  for 
one  another,  and  the  rest  is  so  far  beside  the 
mark  that  it  does  not  need  discussion.  Protestant- 
ism, moreover,  urges  that  no  one  knows  whether 
those  who  have  gone  to  the  other  world  can  hear 
and  comply  with  the  requests  made  of  them  by  those 
in  this  world.  Cajetan,  the  frank  and  great  debater 
against  Luther  on  behalf  of  Rome,  said,  "  We  have 
no  certain  knowledge  as  to  whether  the  saints  are 
aware  of  our  prayers,  although  we  piously  believe 
it."  Protestantism  also  avers  that  this  practice 
seems  to  arise  out  of  a  misconception  of  God  which 
appears  to  be  characteristic  of  Romanism,  namely, 
that  like  an  Oriental  monarch  God  is  difficult  of 
approach  and  is  to  be  reached  by  his  children  only 
through  some  mediating  favorites.  In  truth  God 
will  gladly  hear  any  of  his  children.  In  the  New 
Testament  Jesus  Christ  is  made  the  only  mediator 
between  God  and  men,  and  the  significance  of  this 
mediatorship  is  a  very  different  one  from  that  of  the 
saints  advocated  by  Romanism. 

But  it  is  against  the  inevitable  development  of  the 

3  See  Appendix,  Note  ig. 


158  Positive  Protestantism 

simpler  Romanist  veneration  and  invocation  into 
an  actual  worship  and  a  real  polytheism  that  Prot- 
estantism most  strongly  objects.  It  is  very  difficult 
to  keep  in  mind  the  distinction,  nicely  drawn  by 
Romanist  thinkers,  between  venerating  the  saints 
and  venerating  the  Christ  reflected  in  them.  The 
common  man  really  venerates  and  invokes  the  saint. 
Nor  can  he  maintain  the  distinction  of  the  theo- 
logians in  holding  that  "  latria  "  is  worship  of  God, 
"  dulia "  veneration  of  the  saints,  and  ''  hyper- 
dulia  "  the  intermediate  veneration  given  to  Mary. 
These  distinctions  in  the  attitudes  of  worship  inevi- 
tably fade  in  practice.  Veneration  and  invocation  of 
the  saints  thus  becomes  an  actual  worship  of  saints 
which  cannot  be  distinguished  practically  from  wor- 
ship of  God.  At  least  the  prayers  to  the  saints  are 
often  such  as  might  be  directed  to  God  himself,*  for 
they  are  petitions  to  be  answered  directly  by  the 
saints  and  not  by  God  at  the  intercession  of  the 
saints.  Thus  saint-worship  degenerates  into  a  kind 
of  polytheism  in  which  the  saints  are  supposed  to 
have  good  and  evil  influences  over  the  various  af- 
fairs of  men.  In  consequence  all  but  incredible 
superstition  has  inevitably  followed.^  On  account 
of  this  degeneration  Protestantism  rightly  repu- 
diates veneration  and  invocation  of  the  saints. 

But  Protestants  were  not  the  first  to  oppose  such 
superstition  and  idolatry.     Peter  refused  to  allow 

*  For  examples,  see  Appendix,  Note  22. 
°  See  Von  Hase's  "  Handbook." 


Romanist  Deformities  159 

Cornelius  to  fall  down  and  worship  him.  (Acts 
10  :  25.)  The  men  of  Lystra  attempted  to  make 
sacrifices  to  Barnabas  and  Paul,  but  were  rebuked. 
(Acts  14  :  12-15.)  Paul  says  (Col.  2  :  18),  "Let 
no  man  rob  you  of  your  prize  by  worshiping  of  the 
angels."  According  to  the  book  of  Revelation  (19  : 
10  and  22  :  Si.),  John  himself  is  represented  as 
being  rebuked  for  attempting  to  worship  an  angel. 
Tertullian  and  Augustine  spoke  out  against  this 
practice,  and  through  the  centuries  there  has  been 
considerable  additional  opposition,  even  among  Ro- 
manists. Protestants  therefore  have  for  their  re- 
jection of  veneration  and  invocation  of  the  saints 
most  excellent  warrant  in  the  scriptural  writers  and 
the  Church  Fathers. 

The  climax  of  saint-worship  is  the  cult  of  Mary, 
which  is  open  to  precisely  the  same  objection  as  all 
other  saint-worship  and  in  an  increased  degree  be- 
cause of  the  exaggerated  titles  applied  to  her  and 
the  wide  range  of  requests  which  she  is  asked  to 
answer.^  But  this  is  not  the  entire  indictment  of 
Protestantism  against  the  worship  of  Mary.  The 
complete  dogma  concerning  Mary,  which  is  a  pecu- 
liarly Romanist  conception  unacceptable  to  all  the 
rest  of  Christendom,  holds  that  Mary  was  immacu- 
lately conceived,  that  is,  without  original  sin  with 
which  all  other  human  beings  save  Jesus  have  been 
born;  that  she  was  sinless  herself;  that  she  re- 
mained  perpetually   a   virgin;   that    she   possesses 

«  For  examples  of  titles  and  prayers,  see  Appendix,  Note  23. 


i6o  Positive  Protestantism 


attributes  well-nigh,  if  not  completely,  divine;  and 
that  she  is  an  intercessor  with  God  and  her  son 
Jesus  on  behalf  of  her  worshipers.  Of  Mary's  sin- 
lessness  there  is  no  hint  in  the  New  Testament, 
though  Jesus  is  so  depicted.  The  suppbsition  that 
Mary  remained  perpetually  a  virgin  is  in  direct  con- 
tradiction of  the  passages  in  the  New  Testament 
which  refer  to  Jesus'  natural  brothers  and  sisters. 
(Matt.  12  :  46;  Mark  3  :  31;  6  :  3;  Luke  8  :  19; 
John  2  :  12;  7  :  3,  5.)  The  New  Testament  gives 
no  trace  of  Mary's  immaculate  conception.  Yet 
Heinrich,'^  while  admitting  candidly  the  lack  of 
scriptural  support  for  the  dogma  concerning  Mary, 
actually  asserts  on  the  claim  of  the  unrestricted 
power  of  the  church  that  the  dogma  is  stronger 
because  there  is  no  scriptural  evidence.  He  says: 
*'  Ecclesiastical  science  stands  under  the  direction  of 
the  infallible  teaching  office  of  the  Church.  .  .  We 
are  at  this  point  in  a  better  case  than  we  are  when 
by  means  of  purely  exegetical  helps  we  arrive, 
more  or  less  immediately,  at  an  article  of  faith  as 
the  contents  of  any  text  of  Holy  Scripture."  Nor 
is  there  any  positively  historical  support  for  the 
dogma.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  positively  opposed 
by  such  great  Fathers  as  Saint  Augustine,  Saint 
Bernard,  and  Saint  Thomas  Aquinas.  Conse- 
quently, unless  one  is  willing  to  accept  the  mere 
assertion  of  the  Roman  Curia,  there  is  absolutely 
no  reason  for  assenting  to  this  doctrine. 

*  Quoted  by  Foster. 


Romanist  beforiiiitics  ^6l 

The  manner  of  promulgating  the  dogma  dis- 
credits it.  The  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  had 
quarreled  over  its  validity  for  centuries,  and  no 
council  had  passed  upon  its  truth.  The  Council  of 
Trent  was  discreetly  silent.  But  Pius  IX,  v^ithout 
any  wide-spread  demand  in  the  church  for  a  pro- 
nouncement upon  the  subject,  proclaimed  the  dogma 
by  his  own  infallible  power  which  he  was  then  as- 
serting. Apparently  the  promulgation  of  this  dogma 
was  made  as  a  test  as  to  whether  his  authority,  un- 
supported by  the  decree  of  a  general  council,  w^ould 
be  accepted.  Later  the  Vatican  Council,  in  decree- 
ing the  infaUibility  of  the  pope,  affirmed  as  a  con- 
sequence this  pronouncement.  To-day  a  loyal  Ro- 
manist must  believe  it,  not  because  it  can  be  proved 
to  be  true,  but  because  the  pope  has  declared  it  is 
true.  In  rejecting  ^  this  unsupported  and  incredible 
doctrine,  Protestants  wonder  at  the  credulity  of 
Romanists. 

Analogous  to  saint- worship  is  the  veneration  of 
images  of  Christ,  Mary,  and  the  saints.  This  is  not 
to  be  confused  with  actual  worship.  Virtue  is  at- 
tributed, not  to  the  images,  but  only  to  those  who 
are  represented.  But  here  again  the  common  prac- 
tice of  the  people  cannot  maintain  the  theoretical 
distinction.  The  tendency  to  venerate  the  concrete 
image  is  inevitable  and  is  furthered  by  the  formula 
of  presentation  by  the  priest,  "  Come,  let  us  adore." 
Such  a  practice  ought  to  have  been  prevented  by 

8  The  doctrine  is  also  rejected  by  the  Eastern  Catholic  Church. 
L 


1 62  Positive  Protestantism 

the  use  of  the  second  of  the  Ten  Commandments, 
especially  as  the  English  Douai  Version  renders 
this  commandment  thus :  "  Thou  shalt  not  make 
to  thyself  any  graven  thing.  .  .  Thou  shalt  not  adore 
them,  nor  serve  them"  (Exod.  20  :  4-6).  Some 
Romanist  writers  feel  the  difficulty,  for  their  editions 
of  the  Ten  Commandments  are  numbered  differently 
from  those  used  by  Protestants  in  order  to  make  up 
for  their  omission  of  the  entire  second  command- 
ment just  quoted.^  Not  only  the  Scriptures,  but  also 
the  early  Fathers  from  Justin  Martyr  to  Origen 
abhorred  image-worship.  In  later  years  and  cen- 
turies a  struggle  against  their  use  took  place/*^  Yet 
the  Council  of  Trent,  which  expressly  set  up  the 
standard  of  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Fathers, 
approved  veneration  of  images.  Protestantism  re- 
jects this  practice  both  because  of  the  teaching  of 
Scripture  and  also  because  of  the  superstition  which 
always  results  from  it. 

Another  piece  of  Romanist  externality  is  con- 
nected with  the  doctrine  concerning  penance,  name- 
ly, indulgences.  Since  the  church  is  supposed  to 
have  in  penance  the  power  of  inflicting  penalties 
for  and  so  meeting  temporal  punishment  ^^  of  sin, 
she  is  also  held  to  have  the  power  of  removing  these 
penalties  and  of  pardoning  temporal  punishment  it- 

»  See  an  edition  widely  used  in  the  British  Isles  and  one  in  "  The 
Catholic  Faith — A  Compendium,  authorized  by  Pius  IX,"  p.  43. 
These  are  referred  to  by  R.  J.  Miller,  p.   147. 

*•>  See,  for  conciliar  action,  Appendix,  Note  9. 

"  For  a  definition  of  temporal  punishment,  see  p.  91   fn. 


Romanist  Deformities  163 

self.  Cardinal  Gibbons  says,  "An  indulgence  is  sim- 
ply a  remission  in  whole  or  in  part,  through  the 
superabundant  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  saints, 
of  the  temporal  punishment  due  to  God  on  ac- 
count of  sin,  after  the  guilt  and  eternal  punishment 
have  been  remitted."  For  example,  by  the  gift  of 
alms  to  the  poor  or  by  a  gift  of  money  to  the 
church,  a  certified  check,  so  to  speak,  is  obtained 
on  the  treasury  of  merits  laid  up  by  Christ  and 
by  the  supererogatory  works  of  the  saints.  This 
credit  is  sufficient  to  remit  by  virtue  of  an  indul- 
gence temporal  punishment  in  this  world  and  in 
purgatory.  In  view  of  the  great  trouble  stirred  up 
in  the  past  on  account  of  indulgences,^-  promulga- 
tions and  sales  on  a  large  scale  have  for  a  long  time 
been  avoided  by  Rome.  Yet  indulgences  are  still 
granted.  For  example,  by  the  indulgence  set  forth 
by  the  Holy  League  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  an 
adulterer  will  secure,  by  merely  wearing  a  pre- 
scribed badge  upon  the  lapel  of  his  coat  at  mass  on 
Sunday  morning,  as  great  merit  as  under  the  very 
ancient  system  of  voluntary  penitential  acts  such 
a  one  could  secure  by  seven  years  and  seven  times 
forty  days  of  most  rigorous  practices,  such  as  stand- 
ing among  the  weepers  outside  the  church  door 
clothed  in  penitential  garments.  According  to  papal 
indulgences  the  climbing  of  the  holy  staircase  in 
Rome  in  Holy  Week  earns  nine  years'  indulgence 

^2  It  13  to  be  recalled  that  John  Hus  in  Bohemia,  and  one  hundred 
years  later  Martin  Luther  in  Germany,  broke  with  Rome  over  this 
matter. 


164  Positive  Protestantism 

for  each  step  climbed;  or,  the  mere  act  of  kissing 
the  cross  in  the  Colosseum  earns  one  hundred  days'" 
indulgence.  Such  trifling  with  sacred  ideas  is  al- 
most unbeHevable  on  the  part  of  sensible  people. 
Much  less  would  one  suppose  that  the  members  of 
the  hierarchy,  which  claims  to  have  a  monopoly  on 
salvation  and  religious  knowledge,  would  be  guilty 
of  such  absurdities. 

The  Scriptures  have  absolutely  no  support  for 
the  doctrine  of  indulgences.  Saint  Thomas  Aquinas, 
the  greatest  of  the  medieval  Romanist  theologians, 
makes  various  explanations  of  their  validity,  but 
finally  comforts  himself  with  the  assertion  that  it 
would  be  conceded  by  all  that  indulgences  were 
worth  something,  seeing  that  it  would  be  impious 
to  say  that  the  church  does  anything  in  vain.  That 
is  about  as  much  as  the  doctrine  has  to  build  on. 
Protestants  condemn  indulgences  for  their  lack  of 
basis  in  Scripture  or  reason,  for  their  unethical  ex- 
ternality and  triviality,  and  for  their  inevitable  con- 
nection with  the  commercialism  and  abuses  which 
have  always  marked  their  promulgation  and  sale  on 
a  large  scale. 

Consideration  of  indulgences  naturally  suggests 
purgatory,  which  is  the  state  of  existeoice  after 
death  in  which  the  soul  is  prepared  for  heaven  by 
a  process  of  purging  from  the  guilt  that  may  still 
adhere  to  one  at  death.  Cardinal  Gibbons  and  the 
Catholic  Encyclopedia  give  examples  of  arguments 
which   seek   to  base   the   conception   of   purgatory 


Romanist  Deformities  165 

on  Scripture.  But  this  same  encyclopedia  very 
frankly  sets  such  arguments  aside  in  this  declara- 
tion :  "  We  would  appeal  to  those  general  principles 
of  Scripture  rather  than  to  particular  texts  often 
alleged  in  proof  of  purgatory.  We  doubt  if  they 
contain  an  explicit  and  direct  reference  to  it."  This 
ought  to  be  sufficient  even  for  the  Romanists  to 
see  that  there  is  no  definite  scriptural  ground  for 
belief  in  purgatory. 

Absence  of  Scripture  is  not  the  only  objection 
to  the  idea  of  purgatory.  The  assumption  that 
penalties  remain  to  be  met  after  sin  is  forgiven  is  a 
narrowing  of  God's  willingness  to  forgive,  where- 
as the  Scripture  teaches  that  peace  of  mind  and 
assurance  of  forgiveness  come  through  faith.  More- 
over, the  doctrine  is  self-contradictory.  Romanist 
theologians  argue  that  purgatory  is  a  real  blessing, 
since  it  is  an  opportunity  for  preparing  for  heaven 
by  purificatory  suffering.  But  if  purgatorial  suffer- 
ing is  a  blessing,  why  should  it  be  arbitrarily  short- 
ened? Purgatory  cannot  be  at  the  same  time  a 
blessing  to  be  desired  and  a  curse  to  be  shunned, 
to  avoid  whose  punishments  masses  must  be  said 
and  indulgences  granted.  If  a  surgical  operation 
is  a  real  blessing,  it  would  be  foolish  to  pay  the 
surgeon  to  shorten  arbitrarily  the  process  with- 
out whose  completion  the  benefit  could  not  be 
wrought,  and  instead  have  him  declare  that  the 
blessing  had  been  effected.  Yet  precisely  similar  is 
the  idea  of  shortening  purgatorial  purifying  by  the 


1 66  Positive  Protestantism 

arbitrary  introduction  of  ecclesiastical  decrees  and 
the  like. 

Unscriptural  and  inconsistent,  the  doctrine  as  to 
purgatory  is  also  very  uncertain.  In  spite  of  Rome's 
great  claims  to  religious  knowledge  and  certainty 
in  general,  nothing  is  more  uncertain  than  hopes 
concerning  purgatory.  No  one  can  tell  who  is 
there,  how  long  they  will  stay,  nor  how  many  masses, 
prayers,  and  indulgences  will  get  them  out.  The 
one  certain  thing  is  that  the  believer  may  keep  on 
paying  for  masses  and  prayers  as  long  as  he  will. 
This  uncertainty  has  been  the  prolific  cause  of  the 
evils  due  to  the  doctrine  of  purgatory.  These  are 
scandals  connected  with  prayers  for  the  dead:  the 
commercialized  exploitation  of  the  grief  of  people 
in  order  to  get  them  to  pay  for  prayers;  the  con- 
sequent deadening  of  the  moral  and  religious  sen- 
sibilities of  the  priests  who  devote  most  of  their 
time  to  this;  the  mechanical  weighing  of  so  many 
masses  for  so  much  money  over  against  so  much 
purgatorial  suffering;  the  extortions  which  have 
been  practised;  the  fears  which  have  been  played 
upon  in  order  to  yield  a  rich  revenue  for  avaricious 
ecclesiastics  and  for  a  needy  hierarchy;  and  the 
superstitions  which  have  been  promoted  by  the  fear 
of  purgatory.  The  idea  of  purgatory  and  all  that 
accompanies  it  seems  to  Protestants  to  be  a  part  of 
that  superstitious  side-religion  which  was  mentioned 
above,  and  which  is  an  inevitable  concomitant  of  a 
system  that  nurses  ignorance  among  the  masses  of 


Romanist  Deformities  167 

its  adherents  by  substituting  mere  dicta  of  a  priest- 
hood in  place  of  encouragement  to  obey  the  truth/^ 
Another  element  of  Romanism  akin  to  purgatory 
and  indulgences  is  the  estimate  of  pilgrimages  as 
meritorious  acts  by  which  indulgences  applying  to 
purgatory  and  other  supposed  advantages  may  be 
gained.  Undoubtedly  some  places  in  the  world, 
because  of  their  association  with  great  men  or  great 
experiences,  may  well  be  worth  a  visit.  Indeed, 
it  is  readily  conceivable  that  such  a  visit,  accom- 
panied by  real  piety  and  the  religious  meditations 
aroused  by  a  particular  set  of  associations,  may 
issue  in  real  religious  aid.  Any  spiritual  value,  how- 
ever, arises  quite  entirely  from  the  inner  attitude 
and  thought  of  the  pilgrim.  Pilgrimages  merely  as 
such  have  no  merit,  and  they  have  in  the  past 
too  easily  given  occasion  for  superstitious  ideas  and 
practices  where  the  presence  of  God  or  of  some 
saint,  especially  Mary,  has  been  localized  for  the 
purpose  of  attracting  people,  or  some  image  or 
statue  has  been  all  but  deified,  and  where  magical 
power  has  been  attributed  to  tombs  and  other  spe- 
cial places.  Protestantism,  therefore,  affirms  that 
pilgrimages  have  no  saving  merit,  since  faith,  not 
external  action,  is  the  basis  of  God's  forgiveness. 

13  In  view  of  the  real  situation  Cardinal  Gibbons'  statement  is  both 
astounding  and  absurd  in  implying  ignorance  on  the  part  of  Protes- 
tants who  reject  purgatory:  "  Now  the  same  motive  which  you  have 
for  rejecting  the  opinion  of  an  ignorant  politician,  and  embracing  that 
of  eminent  jurists  on  a  constitutional  question,  impels  you  to  cast 
aside  the  novelties  of  religious  innovators,  and  to  follow  the  unani- 
mous sentiments  of  the  Fathers  in  reference  to  the  subject  of  purga- 
tory." 


1 68  Positive  Protestantism 

The  situation  is  very  similar  with  reference  to 
relics,  the  honor  paid  them,  and  the  expectations 
of  help  from  them.  Mementoes  are  interesting  in 
proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  person  or  place 
to  whom  or  to  which  the  memento  is  attached.  But 
when  supernatural  power  which  is  no  other  than 
magical  is  attributed  to  various  relics,  and  when 
revenue  is  thus  secured,  it  is  out  of  the  question 
to  avoid  fraud  as  to  identity  of  the  relic  and  as  to 
its  alleged  characteristics  and  powers.^*  The  frauds 
and  superstitions  connected  with  relics,  as  Von  Hase 
points  out,  have  been  possible  only  with  the  con- 
nivance of  priests  and  nuns,  and  indeed  the  pope 
himself  has  taken  a  hand  in  encouraging  the  use  of 
relics.  The  Council  of  Trent  gave  specific  command 
for  bishops  with  due  regard  for  validity  to  instruct 
the  faithful  in  honoring  them.  As  long  as  any 
given  relics  have  attracted  people  and  have  yielded 
a  revenue,  their  use  has  been  permitted  in  spite  of 
very  uncertain,  not  to  say  false,  identity.  Prot- 
estantism from  the  beginning,  chiefly  because  it 
bases  religion  in  faith  and  not  in  performing  cer- 
tain external,  supposedly  meritorious  acts,  but  also 
because  of  the  frauds  and  superstitions  connected 
with  the  use  of  relics  has  refused  to  allow  that 
honoring  them  or  in  any  way  using  them  constitutes 
a  religious  act. 

"  Von  Hase's  account  of  frauds  and  superstitions  connected  with 
honoring  of  relics  makes  interesting  reading  in  the  field  of  legerde- 
main and  human  credulity  and  gullibility.  The  present  writer  knows 
of  the  selling,  in  recent  years,  of  charms  and  arnulets  by  a  priest. 


Protestant  Implications  169 

Some  further  implications  of  Protestantism  may 
be  seen  in  a  comparison  of  Romanist  and  Protestant 
worship.  PubHc  worship  in  a  Romanist  church  ^^  is 
chiefly  the  mass  which,  together  with  the  com- 
munion, is  really  a  prolonged  observance  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Incense  is  used.  As  the  mass  is 
said  in  the  Latin  language,  the  people  can  only 
follow  the  actions  of  the  priest  and  acolytes,  and 
at  the  designated  moment  adore  the  elevation  of 
the  "  host."  So  far  from  the  ceremony,  except  at 
the  moment  of  the  elevation,  are  the  minds  of  the 
worshipers  that  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  them 
telling  their  beads  during  the  mass,  depending  ap- 
parently upon  its  supposed  divine  effect  without  any 
reference  to  their  entering  consciously  into  the  cere- 
mony. Thus  they  kill  tw^o  birds  with  one  stone. 
Sermons  are  preached,  but  not  always,  and  occupy 
relatively  a  very  much  less  important  and  effective 
place  than  in  Protestant  churches.  Romanist  wor- 
ship appeals  to  those  who  must  worship  through  the 
outward  and  sensuous  covered  with  a  more  or  less 
thin  veil  of  estheticism.  It  is  this,  perhaps,  which 
explains  its  hold  upon  the  masses  of  people  who 
tend  in  the  direction  of  externals  rather  than  of  the 
inwardly  spiritual. 

Protestant  worship  has  no  mass,  and  regards  in- 
cense as  pagan.  It  is  in  most  branches  of  Protes- 
tantism less  ornate  than  in  Romanism,  though  to-day 

"  The  communion  is  participated  in  by  only  a  comparatively  few  at 
any  one  time,  so  that  for  most  people  the  mass  is  thf  whole  of  the 
service. 


I/O  Positive  Protestantism 

many  Protestant  churches  show  a  marked  tendency 
to  give  larger  place  to  ritualistic  impressiveness 
in  public  worship.  If  Protestant  worship  is  less 
spectacularly  impressive,  the  lack  of  ornateness  is 
more  than  compensated  for  by  those  features  which 
are  given  more  effective  use  by  Protestants  or 
are  entirely  lacking  in  Romanism.  The  sermon  is 
perhaps  the  outstanding  feature  of  Protestant  ser- 
vices, and  through  it  a  larger  place  is  given  to  the 
intellectual  interest  and  to  direct  moral  appeal  than 
in  Romanist  worship.  Elements  of  Protestant  wor- 
ship entirely  lacking  in  Romanism  are  congrega- 
tional singing;  public  Scripture  reading  by  the  min- 
ister and  by  the  people  either  responsively  or  in 
unison ;  and  the  impromptu  public  prayer,  character- 
istic of  most  Protestant  churches,  in  which  the  Prot- 
estant minister  fulfils  the  true  priestly  function  of 
lifting  up  the  people  to  God  by  expressing  for  them 
their  innermost  aspirations,  their  faith,  and  their 
spirit  of  sacrifice.  Besides  the  regular  church  ser- 
vices, Protestants  also  have  public  worship  in  the 
Bible  school  in  public  prayer,  in  Bible  reading, 
and  in  congregational  singing.  The  prayer-meeting, 
which  is  conducted  by  most  Protestant  churches, 
includes  the  elements  of  worship  already  mentioned 
and  two  others  for  which  Romanism  has  no  counter- 
part, namely,  the  worship  through  social  fellowship 
and  interchange  of  Christian  experiences,  and  the 
practice  of  the  priesthood  of  all  believers  in  the 
public  praying  and  speaking  of  laymen.     Finally, 


Protestant  Implications  171 

Protestant  worship,  in  its  effort  to  express  and 
arouse  individual  faith,  rests  on  the  fundamental 
Protestant  emphasis  of  faith  and  upon  the  democ- 
racy of  religious  experience,  while  Romanist  wor- 
ship rests  upon  the  assumption  of  a  divinely  ap- 
pointed ecclesiastical  institution  which  is  the  sole 
channel  of  divine  grace. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  Protestantism 
and  Romanism  differ  in  their  views  of  the  neces- 
sity of  church  attendance.  Romanism  requires,  as 
absolutely  necessary,  attendance  upon  mass  at  least 
once  a  year.  Coppens  declares  that  the  first  com- 
mandment of  the  church  is  "  to  hear  Mass  on  Sun- 
days and  holy  days  of  obligation."  He  argues  in 
a  legalistic  way  that  this  commandment  takes  the 
place  of  that  one  of  the  Ten  Commandments  of 
the  Mosaic  code  which  says,  "  Remember  the  sab- 
bath day  to  keep  it  holy."  The  Romanist  goes  to 
church,  therefore,  first  of  all  because  it  is  legally 
required  by  the  church  and  not  voluntarily  for  the 
purpose  of  personal,  inner  communion  with  God 
and  of  deepening  faith  and  fellowship  with  God 
the  Father.  Mere  attendance  on  the  mass,  with  or 
without  an  Inner  attitude  of  faith  or  seeking  of 
God,  secures  divine  grace  for  the  removal  of  guilt 
and  eternal  punishment  of  sin  and  for  strengthening 
the  moral  life. 

Protestants  also  think  of  church  attendance  as  a 
duty  and  a  privilege,  but  without  the  legalism  and 
externalism  of  Romanism.    One  v/ho  has  real  faith 


172  Positive  Protestantism 

will  recognize  the  duty  of  maintaining  public  wor- 
ship and  the  whole  work  of  the  church,  which  is 
the  institution  under  God's  guidance  to  give  re- 
ligious and  moral  instruction,  to  inspire  Christian 
life,  and  to  bring  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  True 
faith  will  also  feel  the  need  of  the  public  worship 
which  nourishes  individual  Christian  life.  A  man 
cannot  be  as  good  a  Christian  without  as  with  the 
aid  which  the  church  alone  can  give.  But  one's 
relations  to  the  church  in  all  its  functions  must  be 
voluntary.  The  good  received  depends  upon  the 
responsive  faith  of  each  one  who  associates  himself 
with  the  church.  A  true  Protestant  will  believe  that 
the  religious  help  received  by  Romanists  by  their 
attendance  upon  church  depends  likewise  on  the 
inner  attitude  of  the  attendants. 

As  to  alleged  smaller  attendance  of  Protestants, 
it  would  be  possible  to  reply  that  Romanist  atten- 
dance is  so  much  due  to  the  desire  to  meet  the  mere 
external  demand  of  the  legal  requirement  that  it 
does  not  amount  to  so  much  spiritually  as  the  more 
voluntary  attendance  upon  Protestant  churches, 
which  is  based  on  the  impulsion  of  inner  faith. 
Besides,  the  favorable  estimate  as  to  Romanist  at- 
tendance is  based  upon  the  surface  consideration  of 
the  comparatively  crowded  condition  of  the  Roman- 
ist churches  on  Sundays.  This  consideration  does 
not  take  into  account  the  difference  in  policy  fol- 
lowed by  Protestant  and  Romanist  churches  in  re- 
gard to  the  supplying  of  seating  capacity.    Accord- 


Protestant  Ini plications  173 

ing  to  the  United  States  Census  of  1906,  the  last  of 
its  kind  to  date,  Protestant  churches  have  over  twice 
as  many  seats  as  communicants,  while  Romanist 
churches  have  nearly  three  times  as  many  com- 
municants as  seats.  Consequently,  for  Protestant 
churches  to  be  as  crowded  as  Romanist  churches,  it 
would  be  necessary  for  Protestants  to  be  6.39  times 
as  numerous  as  they  are  now.  Thus  it  may  be 
shown  that  Protestants  can  have  nearly  five  and 
one-half  seats  empty  to  one  filled  and  still  have 
relatively  as  many  people  coming  to  church  at  any 
one  time  as  the  Romanists.  This  consideration  is 
quite  sufificient  to  explain  the  seeming  disparity  be- 
tween the  church  attendance  of  Protestants  and 
Romanists. 

However,  though  the  disparagement  of  Protestant 
loyalty  in  this  discussion  makes  necessary  such  a 
statement  as  the  foregoing,  it  is  regrettable,  if 
brotherliness  between  Protestants  and  Romanists  is 
to  be  cultivated,  that  such  innuendoes,  aimed  at  the 
sincerity  of  people  in  either  communion,  should  be 
made.  No  group  of  Christians  has  a  monopoly 
of  goodness  and  loyalty  to  Christ  and  none  is  free 
from  the  shallow,  ignorant,  half-hearted  examples 
of  people  of  little  faith.  It  is  only  ignorance  or 
bigoted  prejudice  that  attempts  to  cast  aspersions 
upon  the  sincerity  of  the  bulk  of  the  people  or  to 
underestimate  the  piety  and  religious  accomplish- 
ments in  either  communion.  It  would  be  well  for 
our  land  if  Protestants  and  Romanists,  while  loyal 


174  Positive  Protestantism 

respectively  to  their  own  convictions  and  teaching 
them  freely,  would  nevertheless  attempt  to  under- 
stand their  essential  differences  and  common  beliefs, 
agree  to  disagree  about  the  things  upon  which  agree- 
ment is  impossible,  and  live  together  in  peace  and 
mutual  respect.  The  very  principles  of  Protestants 
require  them  to  take  this  attitude,  to  allow  their 
cause  to  stand  or  fall  on  its  merits,  and  to  have  no 
fear  of  the  outcome.  Whether  this  is  possible  for 
Romanism  with  its  exclusive  system  Protestants  will 
have  to  leave  to  Romanists  and  their  teachers  and 
to  the  judgment  of  the  unbiased. 

The  attitude  just  referred  to  is  the  fruit  of  Prot- 
estant freedom,  which  has  had  several  important 
issues.  One  of  these  is  religious  liberty,  which  is 
so  characteristic  of  American  Christianity  and  which 
has  constituted  a  marked  contribution  of  the  United 
States  to  the  world.  Against  religious  liberty  the 
authoritative  teaching  of  Romanism  is  unequivocal, 
though  some  Romanists  in  this  country  seem  re- 
luctant to  accept  this  teaching.  Gregory  XVI,  in 
his  pastoral  letter  of  1832,  exhorts  to  the  conflict 
with  indifference,  and  designates  as  such  the  idea 
that  salvation  can  be  had  outside  of  a  right  relation 
to  the  pope :  "  From  this  unclean  spring  of  indiffer- 
ence there  flows  that  idea,  or  rather  that  madness, 
that  every  one  is  to  be  accorded  liberty  of  con- 
science. This  destructive  illusion  is  the  result  of 
that  profitless  freedom  of  ideas,  which  extends  its 
ravages  in  all  directions  to  the  ruin  of  the  State  and 


Protestant  Implications  175 

the  Church,  while  some  have  the  shamelessness  to 
say  that  some  benefit  results  from  it  to  religion.  .  . 
For  it  is  a  familiar  fact  in  the  experience  of  all 
nations  that  the  most  flourishing  states  have  come 
to  ruin  through  this  one  evil,  through  the  im- 
moderate freedom  of  ideas,  through  the  license  ac- 
corded to  public  utterances,  through  the  inordinate 
desire  for  novelties.  To  this  also  appertains  what 
cannot  be  sufficiently  reprobated,  the  freedom  of  the 
press,  which  some  venture  to  demand."  Pius  IX 
went  even  further  in  his  denunciations  of  religious 
liberty,  demanding  that  freedom  of  worship,  of 
conscience  and  thought  be  done  away,  that  the 
church  be  allowed  to  control  individuals  in  these 
spheres,  and  that  all  matters  of  marriage  be  turned 
over  to  the  church.  He  was  artless  enough  to  ex- 
pect that  the  world  would  turn  back  to  such  doc- 
trine. Leo  XIII,  in  his  encyclical  letter  of  June 
20,  1888,  said,  "  It  is  in  no  wise  permitted  to  de- 
mand, defend,  or  grant  liberty  of  thought,  or  of 
the  press,  or  of  teaching,  or  of  religion."  It  is 
therefore  clear  what  Rome  officially  teaches  con- 
cerning religious  liberty. ^^ 

In  view  of  the  Romanist  teaching,  therefore,  and 
also  in  view  of  the  actual  facts  in  the  case,  it  is 
almost  unbelievable  that  Cardinal  Gibbons  has 
claimed  that  the  Roman  Catholic  colony  of  Mary- 
land was  the  first  to  establish  religious  liberty  and 

^^  For  Cardinal  Gibbons'  attitude  tcwa'-d  religious  liberty,  see  Ap- 
pendix, Note  24. 


Positive  Protestantism 


thus  implied  that  we  owe  this  precious  possession 
to  Rome/^  The  true  state  of  the  case  as  to  the 
estabHshment  of  reHgious  Hberty  in  this  country  is 
set  forth  by  L.  W.  Bacon,  a  CongregationaHst.  He 
says :  ^^  "  In  the  establishment  of  the  American  prin- 
ciple of  the  non-interference  of  the  state  with  re- 
ligion, and  the  equality  of  all  religious  communions 
before  the  law,  much  was  due,  no  doubt,  to  the 
mutual  jealousies  of  the  sects,  no  one  or  two  of 
v/hich  were  strong  enough  to  maintain  exceptional 
pretensions  over  the  rest.  .  .  So  far  as  this  work 
was  a  work  of  intelligent  conviction  and  religious 
faith,  the  chief  honor  must  be  given  to  the  Baptists. 
Other  sects,  notably  the  Presbyterians,  had  been 
energetic  and  efficient  in  demanding  their  own  liber- 
ties; the  Friends  and  Baptists  agreed  in  demanding 
liberty  of  conscience  and  worship,  and  equality  be- 
fore the  law,  for  all  alike.  But  the  active  labor  in 
this  cause  was  mainly  done  by  the  Baptists.  It  is 
to  their  consistency  and  constancy  in  the  war- 
fare against  the  privileges  of  the  powerful  *  Stand- 
ing Order '  of  New  England,  and  of  the  moribund 
establishments  of  the  South,  that  we  are  chiefly 
indebted  for  the  final  triumph,  in  this  country,  of 
that  principle  of  the  separation  of  Church  and  State 
which  is  one  of  the  largest  contributions  of  the  New 
World  to  civilization  and  to  the  church  universal." 
As  the  historian  Bancroft  has  said,  Roger  Williams, 

^"  See,  for  a  brief  statement  of  the  situation,  Appendix,  Note  24. 
^^  "  Historj''  of  American  Christianity,"  p.  221. 


Protestant  Implications  177 

a  Baptist,  "  was  the  first  person  in  Christendom  to 
establish  civil  government  on  the  doctrine  of  liberty 
of  conscience."  In  this  view  Bancroft  is  followed 
by  practically  all  accredited  historians. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  easy  to  surmise  that 
Protestantism  has  not  in  all  its  branches  been  in 
accord  with  full  religious  liberty  and  the  accom- 
panying necessity  of  separation  of  Church  and  State. 
In  the  earliest  developments,  Lutheranism  and  the 
Reformed  churches  apparently  could  not  conceive 
of  any  relation  between  Church  and  State  except 
that  of  union,  and  they  would  not  allow  liberty  of 
conscience.  But  in  this  country  to-day  practically 
all  Protestants  would  advocate  religious  liberty  and 
separation  of  Church  and  State.  From  America 
the  influence  of  this  position  has  gone  to  establish 
a  measure  of  religious  liberty,  if  not  to  disestab- 
lish state  churches  among  Protestants  and  others 
throughout  the  world. ^^  American  Protestantism 
has  thus  presented  the  world  with  its  finest  spir- 
itual treasure,  religious  liberty. 

The  spirit  of  freedom  in  Protestantism  has  also 
manifested  itself  in  Protestant  democracy.  This  has 
affected  the  form  of  government  employed  by  eccle- 
siastical organizations.  The  voice  of  the  people  is 
eflFective  in  a  very  large  measure  in  most  Protestant 
denominations.  Many  have  strictly  congregational 
forms  of  government  in  which  the  voice  of  the 
people  is  the  final  appeal. 

"  Compare  Troeltsch,  "  Protestantism  and  Progress," 
M 


178  Positive  Protestantism 

This  is  in  direct  contrast  to  the  Roman  hierarchy. 
It  is  an  absolute  monarchy,  with  the  final  authority 
inhering  in  the  pope,  from  whom  it  comes  down  to 
the  humblest  subject,  from  whom  is  demanded  abso- 
lute submission.  The  pope  is  elected  by  the  col- 
lege of  cardinals,  who  have  previously  been  ap- 
pointed by  popes.  He  is  in  no  sense  answerable  to 
the  people,  nor  are  any  of  the  other  members  of 
the  hierarchy.  The  fact  that  priests  are  usually  re- 
cruited from  the  ranks  of  the  common  people  does 
not  make  the  Roman  Church  a  democracy  as  is 
sometimes  claimed,  for  they  are  not  elected,  selected, 
or  rejected  by  the  people.  That  some  Romanists  de- 
scribe their  church  as  precisely  similar  to  our  free, 
democratic  republic  would  seem  impossible.  The 
people  can  control  our  country,  but  in  Romanism 
they  have  no  control  or  appreciable  influence  over 
the  hierarchy.  This  hierarchy  could  not  possibly 
be  farther  from  a  democratic  form  of  government. 

Moreover,  Rome  is  not  only  an  ecclesiastical  abso- 
lute monarchy.  It  claims  also  to  be  a  political  gov- 
ernment, requiring  a  temporal  kingdom,^^  and  also 
exercising  supreme  authority  over  all  other  political 
governments.  For  this  latter  conception  the  famous 
bull  of  Boniface  VIII  (Unam  Sanctam)  is  au- 
thority: "Therefore,  if  the  earthly  power  deviates 
from  the  way,  it  shall  be  judged  by  the  spiritual 

20  It  is  claimed  thnt  the  pope  should  be  a  trmporal  ruler  and  actual 
king.  The  papal  states  have  now  been  finally  taken  from  him  by  a 
united  Italy.  The  pope  remains  a  voluntary  prisoner  in  the  Vatican 
because  the  Roman  Curia  holds  that  he  must  not  come  out  until  his 
kingdom  is  restored  to  him. 


Protestant  Implications  179 

power;  if  the  inferior  spiritual  power,  by  its  supe- 
rior spiritual  power.  .  .  Whoever  resists  this  power, 
thus  ordained  by  God,  resists  the  ordination  of 
God.  .  .  Then,  to  be  subject  to  the  Roman  pontiff 
we  declare,  say,  define,  and  pronounce  to  be  abso- 
lutely '  necessary  to  every  human  creature  to  sal- 
vation." This  ancient  dogma  has  been  confirmed 
in  modern  times  by  the  Syllabus  of  Errors  of 
Pius  IX,  which  not  only  condemned  religious  liberty, 
but  declared  the  ecclesiastical  law  to  be  supreme 
over  civil  law.  The  Romanist  ideal  is  that  the  pope 
should  control  the  world  through  the  officials  of 
various  states  who  must  be  subject  to  him.  Coppens 
says  (p.  106)  :  *'  The  two  societies,  the  Church  and 
the  State,  can  help  each  other  by  their  corporate 
action.  If  their  views  should  differ,  the  higher 
and  wider  society  should  prevail.  Besides,  Cath- 
olic governors  owe  deference  to  the  church  whose 
members  they  are."  It  is  only  because  the  papacy 
lacks  the  physical  forces  and  because  it  cannot  suc- 
cessfully appeal  to  peoples  against  their  respective 
governments  to  do  the  will  of  the  hierarchy,  that 
the  papal  ideal  of  spiritual  supremacy  over  the 
various  governments  of  the  world  fails  of  its  real- 
ization. 

Plainly  this  ideal  is  significant  for  understanding 
the  relation  of  Romanism  to  political  democracy. 
Inevitably  the  absolutism  of  the  Romanist  hier- 
archy, just  because  of  its  constitution,  is  antago- 
nistic to  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  and  their 


i8o  Positive  Protestantism 

democratic  aspirations  in  any  sphere,  though  some 
Romanists  who  have  come  under  the  influence  of 
modern  democracy  do  not  seem  able  to  see  this.^^ 
The  success  of  the  Protestant  Reformation  made 
possible  the  struggle  for  religious  liberty,  and 
greatly  augmented  the  already  advanced  tendency 
to  political  liberty  and  the  breaking  down  of  the 
political  supremacy  of  the  papacy.  The  two-sided 
struggle  has  since  gone  on  hand  in  hand,  and  with 
reference  to  it  Rome  has  ever  been  against  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  as  is  plainly  shown  by  the 
papal  declarations  quoted  above,  which  condemn 
so  completely  the  principles  and  rights  of  freedom. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  principles  of  Protestantism 
have  ever  been  harmonious  with  freedom,  and  it 
is  a  notable  fact  that  Protestantism  has  had  con- 
siderable to  do  with  the  development  of  modern 
states. 

Just  as  plain  as  this  situation  in  regard  to  political 
democracy  are  the  respective  positions  of  Protes- 
tantism and  Romanism  toward  freedom  in  two 
other  spheres.  One  of  these  is  the  sphere  of  the 
freedom  of  speech  and  the  press.  Already  the 
quotations  of  papal  declarations  made  above,  which 
are  strongly  corroborated  by  the  existence  of  the 
Index,  have  shown  how  completely  official  Rome  is 
against  these  two  liberties  which  are  twin  children 
and  at  the  same  time  twin  conservers  of  freedom. 
Protestant   advocates   of   religious   liberty,   not   to 

21  For  Rome's  past  attitude  to  democracy,  see  Appendix,  Note  25. 


Protestant  Implications  i8i 

speak  of  political  freedom,  have  consistently  pleaded 
for  these  twins,  and  that  is  exactly  what  the  logic 
of  the  Protestant  principles  requires  just  as  the 
essential  contentions  of  Romanism  compel  the  ad- 
herents of  the  papal  system  to  oppose  a  free  press 
and  free  speech. 

Also  in  the  sphere  of  learning,  research,  and 
education  Rome  stands  in  the  way  of  freedom. 
Biblical  scholarship,  theological  science,  and  non- 
theological  science  in  all  matters  affecting  Roman 
teaching  must  submit  to  the  teaching  office  of  the 
church.^^  The  Congregation  of  the  Index  is  always 
ready  to  exercise  its  function  of  condemning  pub- 
lications which  set  forth  unwelcome  positions,  and 
bishops  everywhere  have  the  authority  to  forbid  the 
reading  of  anti-Romanist  books  not  important  enough 
to  send  to  the  Congregation.  It  is  a  strange  and  strik- 
ing fact  illustrative  of  Rome's  intolerance  of  free 
scientific  research  that  from  A.  D.  1616  onward  the 
writings  of  Copernicus  (and  Galileo)  were  on  the 
Index,  "  since  Copernicus'  system  of  the  universe  is 
altogether  contradictory  to  the  Sacred  Writings  and 
destructive  of  Catholic  truth."  The  embarrassment 
which  such  an  attitude  brings  to  an  unchangeable 
church  is  illustrated  in  the  fact  that  from  the  im- 
pression of  the  Index  issued  in  1835  these  prohibi- 
tions silently  disappeared  and  have  not  since  been 
included,  very  ostensibly  because  no  well-informed 
person  any  longer  has  doubted  the  truth  of  the 

22  See  Appendix,  Note  20. 


1 82  Positive  Protestantism 

Copernican  theory,  also  espoused  by  Galileo.  The 
attack  made  so  recently  by  Pius  X  upon  "  Modern- 
ism "  is  a  clear  indication  of  where  Rome  stands 
as  to  freedom  of  research  and  learning.  The  con- 
trasted attitude  of  Protestantism,  which  has  made 
freedom  possible  and  which  has  in  no  small  measure 
cultivated  it,  needs  no  elaboration. 

The  attitude  of  Rome  toward  freedom  in  educa- 
tion is  well  known.  Rome  cannot  escape  the  im- 
plications as  to  her  lack  of  interest  in  educating 
the  common  people  which  lie  in  the  conditions  of 
illiteracy  of  those  countries  where  her  hierarchy 
has  had  full  sway  for  a  long  time.  But  it  is  not 
to  this  situation  chiefly  that  we  now  refer,  but 
rather  to  her  attitude  toward  free  education  in  this 
country,  and  especially  her  hostility  to  the  public 
school  in  all  its  divisions  from  primary  school  to 
university.  Coppens  says,  ''  It  is  distinctly  taught 
in  the  syllabus  of  Pius  IX  that  Catholics  cannot 
approve  of  a  system  of  education  which  is  severed 
from  the  Catholic  faith  and  from  the  power  of 
the  church,  and  which  regards  only  or  primarily 
natural  knowledge  and  social  life."  Thus  Roman- 
ism is  declared  to  be  inherently  and  inevitably  op- 
posed to  our  free-school  system,  and  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  her  priests  use  ecclesiastical  pressure 
to  overcome  the  preference  of  Romanist  parents 
for  the  public  school  which  has  meant  already  so 
much  for  the  liberties  and  prosperity  of  our  nation. 
What  is  surprising  is  that  sensible  people  should 


Protestant  Implications  183 

yield  their  judgment  as  to  the  better  education 
for  their  children  and  choose  to  send  them  else- 
where than  to  this  thoroughly  American  institution 
simply  because  of  the  decree  of  an  ecclesiastical 
powe,r,  and  that  too  a  power  whose  central  location 
is  on  foreign  territory  and  whose  control  is  in  the 
hands  of  men  of  a  foreign  nation  who  cannot  pos- 
sibly sympathize  with  our  institutions,  even  if  they 
could  by  diligent  inquiry  really  understand  them. 
This  attitude  of  Romanism  has  led  Romanists  to 
strive  to  secure  from  public  funds  appropriations 
for  their  educational  institutions,  not  to  mention  the 
situation  with  reference  to  other  kinds  of  activity. 
This  effort,  which  has  not  only  been  proposed,  but 
actually  carried  out  in  demands  for  legislative  ac- 
tion, as,  for  example,  in  Rhode  Island,  is  logical 
enough  for  Romanists,  but  absolutely  opposed  to 
the  established  American  principle  of  separation  of 
Church  and  State,  and  consequently  reveals  how 
inherently  antagonistic  Romanism  is  to  American 
ideals  of  freedom  and  democracy.  Protestants, 
though  maintaining  at  their  own  expense,  and  in 
larger  and  more  effective  measure  than  Romanism, 
their  own  schools  for  higher  education,  stand  with- 
out exception  for  the  free-school  system. 

If  Protestantism  had  contributed  no  more  than 
these  various  elements  of  modern  freedom  which 
can  justly  be  accredited  to  it,  its  superiority  to 
Romanism  and  its  permanent  worth  to  the  world 
would  be  proved. 


Part  TTT 
Cbe  Present  Protestant  Situation 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  NATURE  AND  EXTENT  OF  THE  DIVISIONS  OF 
PROTESTANTISM 

It  is  a  most  difficult  task  to  set  forth  adequately  the 
significance  of  the  several  Protestant  denominations. 
When  members  of  the  same  denomination  differ 
among  themselves  as  to  the  significance  of  their 
body,  it  is  inevitable  that  the  statements  of  an  out- 
sider will  be  liable  to  the  charge  of  inadequacy,  if 
not  of  inaccuracy.  A  brief  general  statement  such 
as  this  must  leave  out  many  modifying  considera- 
tions, and  so  will  be  open  to  the  charge  of  in- 
completeness. Yet  it  is  possible  to  make  a  statement 
with  reference  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  divi- 
sions of  Protestantism  which  will  be  sufficiently  ac- 
curate and  adequate  for  a  broad  view  and  for  under- 
standing why  it  is  that  the  divisions  have  come  to 
exist. 

It  is  primary  and  fundamental  in  understanding 
Protestant  denominationalism  to  recognize  that  de- 
nominational division  is  not  so  overwhelmingly  sig- 
nificant to  Protestants  as  division  must  be  to  Ro- 
manism. The  breadth  of  the  foundation  principles 
of  Protestantism  is  so  great  that  a  single  creed  or 
a  single  ecclesiastical  organization  is  not  a  necessity. 

187 


Positive  Protestantism 


The  question,  therefore,  is  not  so  pressing  as  that 
of  the  factions  of  Romanism  is  for  Romanists. 

But  even  so,  why  are  there  so  many  divisions  of 
Protestantism?  According  to  the  United  States 
Census  Report  of  1906,  there  were  in  this  country 
one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  different  rehgious  or- 
ganizations. But  the  mere  statement  of  this  fact 
does  the  gravest  injustice  to  the  real  situation  if  the 
impHcation  is  drawn  from  it  that  each  of  these  dif- 
ferent organizations  is  of  entirely  separate  and  an- 
tagonistic religious  significance.  It  is  also  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  all  of  these  are  Protestant 
bodies. 

Among  those  not  Protestant  are  the  several  Cath- 
olic bodies.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  included 
in  the  number  mentioned,  as  are  also  two  compara- 
tively recent  schismatic  offshoots  of  Romanism, 
namely,  the  Reformed  Catholic  Church  and  the 
Polish  National  Church.  There  are  also  several 
bodies  representing  the  Oriental  Catholic  Churches 
of  Russia,  Greece,  Serbia,  Syria,  and  Armenia.  In 
addition  to  the  Catholic  bodies,  but  far  removed 
from  them  in  significance,  are  the  groups  popularly 
known  as  Mormons,  who  can  scarcely  be  regarded 
as  Protestants,  and  of  whom  there  are  two  bodies, 
one  of  which  is  by  profession  at  least  Christian. 
Other  non-Protestant  groups  are  the  Spiritualists 
and  Christian  Scientists.  Outside  of  Christianity 
altogether  are  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  temples,  the 
Jews,  the  Theosophists,  the  Bahais,  the  Vedanta  So- 


Divisions  of  Protestantism 


ciety,  and  the  Ethical  Culturists,  all  of  which  groups 
receive  separate  count  in  the  census  report.  Thus 
the  number  of  organizations  referred  to  must  be 
considerably  reduced  before  the  Protestants  are 
reached  at  all. 

A  still  further  reduction  is  necessary  to  do  justice 
to  the  actual  significance  of  Protestantism.  Inter- 
related groups  form  single  families  of  denomina- 
tions. These  families  have  internal  agreement 
among  their  several  members  in  the  most  essential 
significance  of  the  group.  In  each,  one  or  two 
branches  have  nearly  all  the  numerical  strength,  and 
are  surrounded  by  a  number  of  small  bodies  that 
are  only  faint  eddies  in  the  family  current  which, 
with  other  such  currents,  goes  to  make  up  the 
stream  of  Protestantism.  The  family  members  are 
sometimes  related  as  parent  and  offshoot,  and  some- 
times are  bound  by  common  principles  and  practices 
though  springing  from  different  or  common  parent- 
age. A  common  name  is  sometimes  evidence  of  mem- 
bership in  a  family,  but  in  certain  instances  family 
connection  is  closer  without  a  common  title.  For 
example,  there  is  less  difference  in  essential  sig- 
nificance between  Disciples  of  Christ  and  Baptists 
than  between  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
the  Methodist  Protestant  Church;  and  the  Welsh 
Calvinistic  Methodists,  in  spite  of  their  name,  are 
more  nearly  Presbyterian  than  Methodist  and  tend 
to  fraternize  with  Presbyterian  bodies.  The  best 
basis  on  which  to  relate  the  several  denominations 


190  Positive  Protesianti 


ism 


is  that  of  historical  origin  and  essential  significance. 
On  this  basis  in  some  instances  relation  may  be 
established  in  more  than  one  direction,  but  upon  it 
at  least  a  general  view  of  the  most  significant  cur- 
rents of  Protestantism  can  be  secured. 

Nearly  all  of  the  Protestant  denominations  can 
be  related  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  three  great 
divisions  of  the  Protestant  Reformation  movement. 
Naturally,  Lutherans  are  considered  first. 

There  are  in  this  country  twenty-four  different 
Lutheran  organizations.^  All  of  these,  however, 
have  quite  the  same  general  Protestant  significance, 
and  there  is  no  reason  for  counting  some  of  the 
divisions  separately  in  any  sense.  All  agree  in  the 
cardinal  teaching  of  justification  by  faith.  The 
sacraments  of  the  church  are  channels  of  grace, 
but  transubstantiation  is  repudiated.  Infant  bap- 
tism is  practised.  With  reference  to  the  sacra- 
ments, Lutherans  are  nearer  to  Romanism  than 
other  Protestants  and,  excepting  in  a  measure  some 
less  rigid  branches,  tend  more  to  accord  with 
medieval  religion.  Indications  of  the  tendency  are 
to  be  seen  in  the  liturgy  and  in  the  observance 
of   church    festivals.      As   to    church   government, 

^  See  United  States  Census  Report  for  1906,  which  is  the  source 
of  the  statistics  and  much  other  information  given.  Compare  also 
H.  K.  Carroll  and  Chas.  S.  MacFarland.  The  membership  is  given  in 
order  to  convey  in  a  general  way  the  relative  numerical  strength  of 
the  various  denominations.  For  such  a  relative  showing  the  census 
report  is  the  latest  and  most  reliable  source,  though  it  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  in  the  last  eleven  years  each  of  the  denominations 
has  grown,  yet  not  so  as  to  affect  their  mutual  relations  in  any  con- 
siderable dcRree.  Mention  of  some  of  the  smaller  divisions  in  the 
several  groups  is  omitted  because  they  lack  any  essential  significance 
for  our  purpose. 


Divisions  of  Protestantism  191 

Lutherans  in  this  country  have  been  theoretically 
congregational,  but  in  the  application  of  the  theory 
they  have  developed  in  some  of  their  organizations 
what  is  nearly,  if  not  quite,  a  presbyterian  form  of 
government,  and  in  some  others  have  drifted  into 
the  recognition  practically,  if  not  ecclesiastically,  of 
a  bishopric- 
Organized  divisions  among  Lutherans  are  due  to 
several  causes,  namely,  the  difference  in  church 
government  just  referred  to;  the  opposition  of  con- 
servative and  liberal  forces;  the  difterence  of  lan- 
guage and  national  affiliations  due  to  the  various 
sources  of  Lutheran  immigration  to  this  country; 
and  the  sectional  questions  connected  with  the 
Civil  War.  The  General  Synod  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America 
(membership  270,221)  is  the  most  liberal  of  all 
branches,  excepting  one  small  body,  and  most  easily 
fraternizes  with  other  Protestant  denominations.  It 
allows  ministers  of  other  denominations  on  occa- 
sion to  occupy  its  pulpits  and  grants  members  of 
other  denominations  the  privilege  of  participation 
in  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  General  Council  of 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  North  America 
(membership  462,177)  was  formed  by  the  with- 
drawal of  large  numbers  from  the  General  Synod 
because  of  the  latter's  liberality.  "  Lutheran  pulpits 
are  for  Lutheran  ministers  only,  and  Lutheran  altars 

2  See  H.  K.  Carroll,  "  The  Religious  Forces  of  the  United  States," 

pp.   4Sf. 


192  Positive  Protestantism 

are  for  Lutheran  communicants  only,  and  excep- 
tions to  the  rule  belong  to  the  sphere  of  privilege 
not  of  right "  was  the  final  position  of  the  General 
Council,  which  also  took  an  attitude  strongly  op- 
posed to  secret  societies.  This  body  is  less  Angli- 
cized than  the  General  Synod  and  less  German  than 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synodical  Conference 
(membership  648,529),  which  is  the  most  conserva- 
tive and  adheres  most  rigidly  to  the  historic 
Lutheran  confessions  of  faith.  These  three  include 
two-thirds  of  the  Lutherans  in  this  country.  The 
other  third  is  scattered  among  a  number  of  smaller 
bodies,  a  few  of  which  have  considerable  numerical 
strength,  and  these  maintain  separate  organizations 
chiefly  on  national  and  geographical  grounds.^ 

Besides  the  bodies  which  bear  the  name  of  Luther, 
there  are  three  others  directly  connected  with 
Lutherans :  the  German  Evangelical  Synod  of  North 
America  (membership  293,197),  which  represents 
the  state  church  resulting  from  a  union  of  Lutheran 
and  German  Reformed  churches  in  Prussia ;  and  two 
small  bodies  representing  a  revival  movement  in 
Sweden,  where  the  state  church  is  Lutheran,  the 
Swedish  Evangelical  IMission  Covenant  (member- 
ship 20,760)  and  the  Swedish  Evangelical  Free  Mis- 
sion (membership  6,952).* 

The  Reformed  movement,  the  second  great  stream 

2  See  United  States  Census  Report. 

*  According  to  the  above  grouping,  including  unmentioned  smaller 
bodies,  the  Lutheran  family  had  a  membership  in  1906  of  2,359,277. 


Divisions  of  Protestantism  193 

of  the  Reformation,  is  represented  in  this  country 
most  directly  by  four  bodies  whose  names  include 
the  word  "  Reformed  "  and  by  the  Presbyterians. 
All  of  these  are  Calvinistic  in  theology,  and  give  the 
charaeteristic  emphasis  of  that  system  to  the  doc- 
trines of  the  sovereignty  of  God  and  his  decrees 
concerning  the  salvation  of  men.  All  likewise  have 
practically  the  same  presbyterian  form  of  church 
government. 

The  [Dutch]  Reformed  Church  in  America 
(membership  124,938)  represents  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Holland,  adheres  to  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism,  and  is  composed  chiefly  of  the  Dutch 
and  their  descendants.  The  [German]  Reformed 
Church  in  the  United  States  (membership  292,654) 
uses  the  same  catechism  and  has  the  same  form  of 
government,  but  is  composed  of  Germans  and  their 
descendants.  The  Christian  Reformed  Church 
(membership  26,669)  represents  a  body  of  the  same 
name  in  Holland  and  holds  a  modified  form  of 
Calvinism.  The  Hungarian  Reformed  Church 
(membership  5,253)  is  like  the  others  except  in  point 
of  nationality,  and  in  that  it  is  connected  officially 
with  the  national  church  of  Hungary. 

The  Presbyterians  are  the  most  numerous  and 
perhaps  the  most  influential  representatives  in  this 
country  of  the  Reformed  movement.  They  came 
hither  originally  from  Scotland,  England,  and  Ire- 
land. There  are  twelve  divisions.  The  chief 
strength  is  in  one  body,  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
N 


194  Positive  Protestantism 

the  United  States  of  America  (membership  1,179,- 
566),  which,  like  all  other  Presbyterian  groups, 
holds  to  the  Westminster  Confession  and  the  pres- 
byterian  form  of  church  government.  The  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians  (membership  195,770)  came 
into  separate  existence  in  the  early  part  of  the  last 
century,  after  a  great  religious  revival  in  Tennessee 
and  Kentucky,  as  the  result  of  a  controversy  con- 
cerning the  licensing  of  preachers  to  take  care  of 
the  new  converts,  though  these  preachers  had  not 
been  as  fully  educated  as  the  high  standards  of 
Presbyterians  required.  The  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States  (membership  266,345)  is  the 
conservative  Southern  body  which  separated  on  ac- 
count of  the  Civil  War.  It  includes  most  of  the 
Presbyterians  who  live  in  the  South,  though  the 
Northern  Presbyterians  have  some  churches  there, 
especially  among  the  Negroes.  The  Welsh  Cal- 
vinistic  Methodists  (membership  13,280)  originated 
from  the  work  in  Wales  of  Wesley  and  Whitefield, 
the  latter  of  whom  was  a  Calvinist,  and  are  really 
presbyterian  in  belief  and  church  government.  The 
United  Presbyterians  (membership  130,342)  differ 
from  the  others  chiefly  in  their  opposition  to  secret 
societies,  in  forbidding  the  privilege  of  communion 
to  those  who  do  not  agree  with  their  church's  posi- 
tion, and  in  insisting  that  only  psalms,  and  no 
hymns  written  by  uninspired  writers,  shall  be  sung 
in  the  church  services.  Four  distinct,  but  very  small 
bodies  of  Reformed  Presbyterians  (aggregate  mem- 


Divisions  of  Protestantism  195 

bership  10,199)  agree  with  other  Presbyterians  as 
to  the  Westminster  Confession  and  the  form  of 
church  government,  with  the  United  Presbyterians 
in  their  opposition  to  secret  societies  and  the  use  of 
hymns,  and  with  one  another  as  to  the  unrighteous- 
ness of  instrumental  music  in  the  church  and  as  to 
opposition  to  any  poHtical  government  which  does 
not  recognize  Christ  as  head ;  and  they  differ  among 
themselves  as  to  the  practical  measures  to  take  in 
securing  the  recognition  -of  Christ  by  the  govern- 
ment, some  of  them  refusing  to  vote.  All  Pres- 
byterians baptize  infants  and  use  affusion  or  sprin- 
kling as  the  mode.  They  have  always  laid  a  strong 
emphasis  on  doctrinal  matters,  yet  among  them 
to-day  are  some  of  the  strongest  advocates  of 
cooperation  among  various  Protestant  bodies. 

Still  another  representative  of  the  Reformed 
movement  is  the  Congregational  denomination 
(membership  700,480).  Toward  the  end  of  the  six- 
teenth century  a  small  body  of  Calvinists  in  England 
became  an  independent  church,  emphasizing  in  con- 
trast to  the  Anglican  Church,  from  which  it  broke 
away,  the  principle  of  democratic  church  govern- 
ment which  had  been  advocated  by  the  Anabaptists. 
This  body  had  to  fiee  to  Holland,  and  thence  came 
to  this  country  as  the  Pilgrims  in  1620.  Later, 
when  the  Puritans  or  extreme  Calvinist  party  in 
the  Church  of  England  failed  to  overturn  the  An- 
glican polity  and  were  forced  out  of  the  church, 
some     were     absorbed     by     various     independent 


196  Positive  Protestantism 

churches  in  England,  and  some  came  to  this  country. 
In  New  England  the  Puritans  and  Pilgrims  estab- 
lished the  church  which  has  become  the  Congre- 
gational denomination.  The  relations  between  this 
body  and  the  Presbyterians  have  been  fairly  close, 
and  at  one  time  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  cen- 
tury there  was  a  working  agreement  as  to  terri- 
torial division.  The  Congregationalists  have  been 
especially  responsive  to  modern  liberal  Protestant 
conceptions,  and  have  largely  ceased  to  be  the  ex- 
ponents of  any  theological  system  such  as  Calvin- 
ism. Sprinkling  and  infant  baptism  are  practised. 
The  one  preeminently  distinguishing  mark  of  the 
body  is  its  form  of  church  government,  according 
to  which  the  local  church  is  free  to  act  in  all  its 
concerns  without  interference  from  ecclesiastical 
authority.^  Associations  and  councils  are  advisory 
only. 

The  Anglican  Church  was  connected  historically 
with  the  Calvinistic  movement,  yet  finally  remained 
distinct  from  it.^  Its  counterpart  in  this  country 
is  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  (membership 
886,942),  whose  emphasis  upon  medieval  ecclesi- 
astical piety  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
body  affected  by  the  Reformed  movement,  and 
whose  church  government  is  more  exclusive  and 

8  In  view  of  the  present  emphasis  of  the  Congregationalists,  and 
since  thev  have  ceased  to  be  distinctly  Calvinistic  it  might  be  logical 
to  classify  them  with  the  Anabaptist  group.  If  they  are  retained, 
the  whole  number  of  members  in  the  Reformed  family  is  2,976,753? 

«  See  p.  37- 


Divisions  of  Protestantism  197 

medieval  than  even  that  of  the  Lutherans.  While 
this  body  includes  some  of  the  most  liberal  theo- 
logical scholars,  the  canons  of  the  church  are  very 
exclusive,  ecclesiastically  speaking,  and  the  High 
Church  Party  seeks  to  dominate  the  church  with 
the  strictest  sacramentarian  medievalism.  The  Epis- 
copal Church  is  undoubtedly  among  Protestants  the 
church  of  reverence  for  historical  continuity  in  re- 
ligious practices,  of  ecclesiasticism  in  religion,  and 
of  ritualism  in  worship.  Like  the  medieval  church, 
it  has  three  orders  of  ministers — deacons,  priests, 
and  bishops.  It  claims  historical  apostolic  suc- 
cession, which  it  admits  is  also  possessed  by  the 
Roman  and  Oriental  Catholic  Churches,  but  by 
no  others.  No  ministers  are  really  such  unless  or- 
dained by  a  bishop  in  this  succession,  so  that  no 
minister  of  any  other  communion  is  allowed  to 
speak  in  an  Episcopalian  pulpit  without  special  per- 
mission from  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  in  which  the 
pulpit  is  located.  Even  this  permission  has  been 
canonically  legal  only  in  recent  years.  A  quite 
famous  Baptist  minister  was  recently  refused  per- 
mission to  address  from  an  Episcopalian  pulpit  a 
meeting  to  be  held  in  the  interest  of  church  union, 
because  he  did  not  believe  in  infant  baptism,  and 
another  meeting-place  had  to  be  secured  which 
was  under  less  restricted  ecclesiastical  affiliations.^ 

'''In  1873  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  split  over  the  question 
of  communing  with  members  of  other  denominations,  and  the  seceding 
body  is  known  as  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church  (membership 
9:683),  and  has  espoused  the  more  evangelical  positions  of  Protes- 
tants. 


198  Positive  Protestantism 

In  grouping  the  modern  representatives  of  the 
Anabaptist  movement  and  its  pre-Reformation 
forerunners,  three  distinct  kinds  of  connection  are 
to  be  pointed  out.  Several  bodies  may  be  traced 
by  direct  historical  continuity  to  the  Anabaptists. 
Others  have  sprung  directly  or  indirectly  from 
these  desccndent  groups.  Still  others  have  had  an 
independent  origin,  but  are  to  be  connected  here 
because  they  emphasize  some  one  or  more  of  the 
Anabaptist  tenets. 

The  two  oldest  of  the  denominations  in  this 
family,  in  our  country,  are  the  Moravian  Brethren 
(membership  17,155)  and  the  Evangelical  Union  of 
Bohemian  and  Moravian  Brethren  (membership 
771),  w^hose  history  in  both  cases  can  be  traced 
back  five  hundred  years  to  the  influence  of  John 
Hus,  the  Bohemian  martyr.  Their  beliefs  and 
practices  before  the  Reformation  w^ere  distinctly 
Anabaptist.^  To-day  they  have  principles  some- 
w^hat  like  those  of  the  Mennonites  and  modern 
Baptists,  but  practices  more  like  those  of  other 
denominations.  The  Moravians  are  noted  for  their 
missionary  activities. 

A  second  group  to  be  traced  directly  to  the  Ana- 
baptists are  the  Mennonites.  After  the  fierce  per- 
secutions of  the  Anabaptists  of  Holland  and  ad- 
jacent regions  had  begun  to  abate,  INIenno  Simons, 
an  Anabaptist  leader,  traveled  from  place  to  place, 
greatly  heartening  the   scattered   members   of   the 

s  See  A,  H.  Newman,  "  A  History  of  Anti-Pedobapti&m,"  pp.  49-54- 


Divisions  of  Pfotestantism  199 

despised  sect.  The  denomination  which  was  thus 
sohdified  took  its  name  from  his,  and  holds  prac- 
tically all  of  the  tenets  which  were  supported  by 
the  bulk  of  the  Anabaptists.  The  Mennonites  do 
not  baptize  infants.  They  use  affusion  or  sprin- 
kling as  the  mode  of  baptism,  though  some  branches 
in  this  country  employ  immersion.  There  are  two 
chief  and  twelve  smaller  organizations  of  them. 
The  membership  (aggregate  54,798)  is  composed 
chiefly  of  immigrants,  descendants  of  immigrants, 
and  converts  made  especially  among  German-speak- 
ing people.  The  separate  existence  of  the  several 
divisions  is  due  in  part  to  differences  of  nationality, 
but  more  especially  to  the  relative  rigidity  em- 
ployed in  the  respective  bodies  in  executing  church 
discipline  with  reference  to  various  matters. 

By  far  the  most  numerous,  influential,  and  im- 
portant group  which  can  be  traced  directly  to  the 
Anabaptists  is  that  of  the  modern  Baptists.  They 
arose  in  England  probably  through  the  activities 
of  Anabaptist  missionaries  who  were  refugees  from 
continental  persecutions.  The  first  known  advo- 
cate of  Anabaptist  principles  in  America  was  Roger 
Williams,  who  came  to  this  land  as  a  clergyman  of 
the  Church  of  England,  but  whose  advocacy  of  Ana- 
baptist principles  led  to  his  banishment  from  Alassa- 
chusetts  and  his  founding  of  Rhode  Island,  the  first 
organized  government  known  to  man  to  be  estab- 
lished on  the  foundation  of  religious  liberty.  Others 
of  similar  beHefs  came  from  abroad,  and  some  in 


200  Positive  Protestantism 

the  various  colonies  in  this  country  were  convinced 
of  the  validity  of  the  Anabaptist  contentions.  Thus 
the  Baptists  grew  slowly.  But  during  the  last  cen- 
tury they  increased  three  times  as  fast  as  the  popu- 
lation and  came  to  be  one  of  the  numerically  great 
denominations. 

The  chief  emphasis  of  the  Baptists  has  been 
double.  It  has  been  put  upon  loyalty  to  the  Scrip- 
ture and  upon  the  necessity  of  carrying  the  funda- 
mental position  of  Protestantism  toward  faith  to 
an  application  beyond  that  of  other  denominations. 
This  application  has  concerned  church  government, 
the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  State,  and  the 
ceremonies  of  the  church.  Since  individual  faith  is 
the  determining  element  of  religious  life,  every  in- 
dividual Christian  is  of  such  worth  that  he  deserves 
a  voice  and  vote  in  the  administering  of  the  local 
church.  Also  the  conscience  must  be  free  from  in- 
terference either  by  ecclesiastical  authority  of  bishop 
or  legislative  council  or  by  civil  authority.  Con- 
sequently each  local  church  is  free  of  outside  con- 
trol and  the  Church  and  the  State  must  be  separate. 
Similarly,  the  Baptist  contention  in  regard  to  infant 
baptism  and  immersion  ^  and  their  view  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  ^^  emphasize  the  central  place  of 
faith.  At  the  same  time  Baptists  hold  that  the  New 
Testament  teaching  and  practice  bear  out  their 
positions. 

^  See  above,  pp.  86-90. 
10  See  above,  pp.  98-103. 


Divisions  of  Protestantism  201 

Most  Baptists  in  this  country  and  Canada  hold  to 
what  is  called  "  restricted  "  communion ;  not,  how- 
ever, on  the  basis  of  some  bodies  who  believe  that 
they  have  the  one  and  only  way  to  God,  but  simply 
because  Baptists  think  that  baptism  should  precede 
participation  in  the  Lord's  Supper — so  far  all  Chris- 
tians agree — and  since  the  immersion  of  believers  is 
the  only  proper  Christian  baptism,  persons  not  thus 
baptized  should  not  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
But  both  in  this  country  and  in  other  lands  there 
are  many  Baptist  individuals  and  Baptist  churches 
which  do  not  thus  hold.  Adherence  to  "  restricted  " 
communion  is  not  universally  made  a  test  of  de- 
nominational fellowship.  There  is  a  noticeable  ten- 
dency in  this  country,  especially  among  the  Baptists 
of  the  Northern  half,  away  from  the  "  restricted  " 
view.  There  are  also  a  few  Baptist  churches  in 
this  country  v/hich  have  in  their  membership  a 
few  unimmersed  persons  received  by  letter  from 
churches  of  other  denominations. 

There  are  several  bodies  of  Baptists,  of  which 
by  far  the  most  numerous  are  the  Regular  Bap- 
tists (membership  5,323,183)  so  called  to  distin- 
guish them  from  other  groups.  The  classification 
by  H.  K.  Carroll,  and  to  a  less  degree,  the  United 
States  Census,  implies  that  the  Regular  Baptists  are 
subdivided  into  several  distinct  bodies.  The  white 
churches  are  organized  for  united  efforts  in  two 
conventions,  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  and 
the  Northern  Baptist  Convention,  and   the   Negro 


202  Positive  Protestantism 

Baptists  have  several  organizations.  But  these  or- 
ganizations are  separated  only  for  purposes  of  ef- 
ficiency and  not  because  they  are  in  any  sense  sepa- 
rate denominations.  Before  the  formation  of  the 
Northern  Baptist  Convention  the  united  endeavors 
of  the  constituent  churches  were  carried  on  by 
numerous  Societies,  one  of  which,  the  Publication 
Society,  served  churches  both  North  and  South,  and 
all  of  which  are  now  in  affiliation  with  the  Northern 
Baptist  Convention.  There  is  to-day  no  such  divi- 
sion between  the  Baptists  of  the  North  and  South 
as  exists  between  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  which 
have  rival  churches  in  the  same  communities.  There 
is  not  even  a  clear  mark  of  distinction  between 
white  and  colored  Baptists,  for  there  are  many 
Negro  members  of  white  Baptist  churches,  and 
there  are  churches  composed  entirely  of  Negroes 
which  are  affiliated  with  district  associations  com- 
posed almost  entirely  of  white  churches.  Such 
Negroes  are  counted  in  the  statistics  of  the  North- 
ern Convention.  At  the  same  time  some  of  these 
same  Negro  churches  are  also  connected  with  the 
general  national  organizations  whose  members  are 
exclusively  Negroes.  It  is  plain,  therefore,  that 
the  Regular  Baptists  are  a  single  denomination, 
though  they  are  variously  and  perhaps,  to  an  out- 
sider, confusedly  organized.  Baptists  themselves 
think  only  of  the  unity  of  all  Baptists,  North,  South, 
white,  and  colored. 


Divisions  of  Protestantism  203 

There  are  several  smaller  distinct  bodies  of  Bap- 
tists. Free  Baptists  now  are  as  completely  amal- 
gamated with  Regular  Baptists  as  any  two  such 
democratic  bodies  can  be.  The  Free  Baptists  (mem- 
bership 81,359)  should  therefore  really  be  counted 
with  Regular  Baptists,  through  whose  agencies  they 
now  carry  on  their  chief  denominational  work. 
They  send  representatives  to  the  Northern  Baptist 
Convention  and  other  Regular  Baptist  organiza- 
tions. Quite  distinct  are  the  "  Primitive,"  or  "  Old- 
school,"  or  "  Antimissionary  "  Baptists,  sometimes 
nicknamed  "Hard-shell"  Baptists  (membership 
102,311).  They  are  rigidly  and  extremely  Cal- 
vinistic  in  theology,  and  are  opposed  to  Sunday 
Schools  and  missionary  and  Bible  societies.  They 
are  found  chiefly  in  the  South,  where  they  have  a 
considerable  measure  of  success.  The  remaining 
seven  small  bodies  aggregate  about  the  same  num- 
bers as  the  Antimissionary  Baptists.  It  is  plain 
therefore  that  about  ninety-seven  per  cent  of  the 
Baptists  are  Regular. 

The  Moravians,  Alennonites,  and  Baptists  are 
direct  descendants  of  the  Anabaptists.  Outside  of 
these  are  certain  bodies  which  stand  for  almost 
the  same  thing  as  Baptists.  Quite  markedly  related 
to  Baptists  are  those  people  who  forwarded  dur- 
ing the  nineteenth  century  several  movements  for 
church  union  by  urging  a  return  to  the  New  Tes- 
tament standard  of  church  life.  The  body  known 
as   Disciples  of  Christ    (membership  982,701)    re- 


204  Positive  Protestantism 

suited  from  a  movement  led  by  Thomas  and 
Alexander  Campbell.  These  men  had  been  Pres- 
byterian, became  Baptist,  and  then  later  drew  a 
number  of  Baptist  churches,  on  the  basis  of  church 
union  and  the  legal  necessity  of  baptism  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  into  a  new  denomination  which, 
however,  refuses  to  regard  itself  as  a  denomination. 
A  similar  movement  had  started  in  another  part 
of  the  country  partly  under  Baptist  leadership, 
and  these  people  called  their  churches  "  Christian." 
Some  of  these  churches  joined  in  with  the  Dis- 
ciples' movement,  but  those  not  so  joining  are  known 
as  the  Christian  Connection  (membership  110,117). 
The  titles  used  by  these  churches  are  further  con- 
fused by  the  fact  that  some  churches  originally 
wholly  identified  with  the  Disciples'  movement,  but 
which  now  are  not  so  closely  allied,  call  themselves 
the  Churches  of  Christ  (membership  159,658). 
They  are  opposed  to  missionary  and  publication 
organizations  of  the  Disciples.  The  Churches  of 
God  in  North  America  (membership  24,356)  orig- 
inated with  the  German  Reformed  people  of  ]\Iary- 
land,  but  stand  for  practically  the  same  positions  as 
Disciples,  except  that  they  have  a  presbyterian  form 
of  government.  All  of  these  groups  are  very  similar 
to  the  Baptists,  except  that  they  make  a  special 
point  of  church  union  on  their  peculiar  platform. 
Disciples  have  sometimes  been  called  "  Campbel- 
lite  "  Baptists. 

Almost  as  close  to  the  Baptists  as  Disciples  are 


Dii'isions  of  Protestantism  205 

the  Adventists.  In  the  Reformation  period  not  a 
few  Anabaptists  beHeved  in  the  immediate  or  early 
coming  of  Christ  and  wandered  about  amid  the  pos- 
sible vagaries  connected  with  speculation  upon  this 
subject.  The  Adventists  sprang  up  under  Baptist 
leadership,  and  have  taken  a  considerable  part  of 
their  numerical  strength  from  Baptist  churches. 
The  group  arose  in  this  country  with  the  Miller ite 
movement  of  the  early  part  of  the  last  century. 
The  failure  of  Christ  to  appear  at  the  times  pre- 
dicted has  not  prevented  the  continued  existence 
of  the  Adventist  groups,  which  may  fairly  be  re- 
garded as  Baptist  with  a  millenarian  emphasis. 
There  are  several  bodies,  all  of  which  immerse  and 
refuse  to  baptize  infants.  The  two  chief  divisions 
are  the  Seventh  Day  Adventists  (membership 
62,211)  and  the  Advent  Christians  (membership 
26,799).  The  former  of  these  legalistically  insists 
on  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath,  and 
practises  foot-washing  in  connection  with  the  Lord's 
Supper,  while  the  latter  believes  in  conditional  im- 
mortality. There  are  also  four  extremely  smiall 
bodies  which  give  especial  emphasis  to  a  number  of 
different  elements  of  the  Old  Testament  religion.^^ 
The  third  class  of  denominations  belonging  in  a 
sense  to  the  Anabaptist  stream  are  neither  directly 
descended  from  the  Anabaptists  of  the  Reforma- 
tion period  nor  from  any  of  the  direct  descendants. 

"The  numerical  strength  of  the  Baptistic  group  is  great:  direct 
descendants,  5,676,106;  related  to  Baptists,  Disciples,  and  allies, 
1,276,832;  and  Adventists,  92,735;  total,  7,048,673. 


2o6  Positive  Protestantism 

But  they  have  all  espoused  some  one  or  more  of  the 
Anabaptist  practices  or  teachings. 

The  "  Dunkers,"  or  "  Dunkards,"  or  '*  German 
Baptist  Brethren,"  are  an  example  of  the  third  type. 
Originating  among  Lutherans  as  a  result  of  the 
pietistic  movement  in  the  German  churches,  which 
came  about  as  a  protest  against  the  dead  spirit  of 
Protestant  orthodoxy  in  Germany  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  denomination  developed  its  doc- 
trinal conceptions,  its  church  polity,  and  its  prac- 
tices along  Anabaptist  lines  similar  to  those  of  the 
Mennonites,  Quakers,  and  other  ''  plain  peoples." 
They  have  no  written  creeds,  but  hold  to  the  Scrip- 
tures as  sufficient.  They  baptize  by  trine  immer- 
sion; that  is,  they  submerge  three  times  in  suc- 
cession after  the  manner  of  the  Oriental  Catholic 
Church;  they  practise  foot-washing;  and  they  re- 
fuse to  baptize  infants.  Great  emphasis  is  laid  upon 
unworldliness ;  and  plain  dressing  of  a  set  fashion 
without  further  adornment  is  insisted  on.  Women 
are  expected  to  wear  a  prayer-covering,  or  veil, 
during  prayer.  The  form  of  church  government  is 
similar  to  the  Presbyterian,  but  ministers  do  not 
for  the  most  part  receive  any  salaries.  These  peo- 
ple came  at  an  early  date  to  our  country,  but  have 
kept  themselves  socially  isolated,  and  have  largely 
retained  their  original  customs  and  spirit.  They 
are  almost  entirely  of  German  extraction.  There 
are  four  divisions,  the  main  one  of  which  includes 
nearly  four-fifths  of  all  Dunkers.    The  entire  group 


Divisions  of  Protestantism  207 

(membership  97,144)  is  more  like  the  modern  Men- 
nonites  than  the  modern  Baptists  and,  hke  the 
former,  has  its  spirit  from  European  sources. 

Another  body  of  Christians  arising  after  the 
Reformation  and  espousing  Anabaptist  positions  is 
that  of  the  Friends,  commonly  known  as  Quak- 
ers. They  sprang  up  in  England  from  much  the 
same  soil  as  the  Baptists.  The  quaint  costume 
which  became  the  badge  of  Quakers  was  borrowed 
from  the  Baptists  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
Quakers  took  up  the  Anabaptist  principle  of  the 
''  inner  light,"  or  the  direct  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God  as  the  supreme  authority  for  each 
Christian  life.  So  far  did  they  carry  the  emphasis 
of  the  internal  side  of  Christian  life  that  they 
denied  the  necessity  or  the  usefulness  of  the  church 
ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Two 
other  Anabaptist  principles  taken  up  by  the  Quak- 
ers were  the  refusal  to  take  oaths  and  to  hold  public 
office  and  the  refusal  to  fight,  with  the  consequent 
emphasis  upon  peace.  From  the  Orthodox  body 
(membership  91,161)  have  separated  two  groups, 
the  Hicksite  Friends  (membership  18,560),  who  are 
Unitarian  in  doctrine,  and  the  Wilburite  Friends 
(membership  3,380),  who  insist  on  ''the  waiting 
worship  "  being  maintained. 

Somewhat  later  than  the  origin  of  the  Quakers 
the  Wesleyan  movement  arose  in  England.  The 
religious  life  of  England  had  settled  down  into 
a  dead  formalism.    John  Wesley,  a  minister  of  the 


2o8  Positive  F'rotestantisrn 

Church  of  England,  began  even  in  his  university 
days  an  attempt  at  the  revival  of  real  piety  and 
spirituality  in  that  church.  He  was  forced  out  of 
the  church,  and  as  a  result  we  have  the  bodies  which 
are  Wesleyan,  or  Methodist.  The  name  "  Method- 
ist "  arose  as  a  nickname  of  reproach.  Methodists 
early  came  to  this  country,  where  they  have  had 
a  remarkable  growth.  The  Methodists  are  Arminian 
in  theology,  which  means  that  they  have  always 
emphasized  the  part  which  man  through  his  will 
plays  in  his  own  religious  life  more  than  the  part 
of  God,  which  is  the  point  of  especial  emphasis 
in  Calvinism.  The  Methodist  type  of  religious 
thinking  has  greatly  affected  most  evangelical  Prot- 
estant bodies  in  this  country. 

The  Methodists  have  emphasized,  perhaps  as  no 
other  body  except  the  Baptists,  the  necessity  of  a 
really  converted  church-membership,  though  they 
have  not  agreed  with  Baptists  in  making  the  rejec- 
tion of  infant  baptism  and  the  insistence  on  im- 
mersion a  means  of  urging  this  necessity.  Most 
Methodists  practise  infant  baptism  and  usually 
sprinkling,  but  some  use  immersion,  and  all  groups, 
at  least  theoretically,  permit  it.  The  Lord's  Supper 
is  observed  as  a  memorial  meal  with  spiritual,  but 
not  strictly  speaking,  sacramental  blessing,  though 
the  name  "  sacrament "  is  used.  The  relation  to 
Anabaptists  is  far  less  direct  than  that  of  the  other 
groups  thus  far  mentioned,  but  is  nevertheless  dis- 
tinct.    Wesley  himself  came  directly  under  the  in- 


Divisions  of  Protestantism  209 

fluence  of  the  Moravian  teaching  and  spirit,  and 
his  subsequent  teaching  and  reUgious  life  showed 
the  influence  of  the  contact.  If  this  contact  did 
not  originate,  it  at  least  greatly  increased,  the  em- 
phasis of  Methodists  on  the  Anabaptist  and  pre- 
Reformation  idea  of  the  "  inner  light."  This  un- 
doubtedly affected  the  characteristically  Methodist 
doctrine  of  ''  sanctification,"  according  to  which  it 
is  possible  through  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  attain  to  "  a  freedom  from  sin,  from  evil  desires 
and  tempers,  and  from  pride."  The  Methodist 
bodies  have  perhaps  more  than  other  Protestants 
undertaken  formally  to  keep  the  people  to  a  stricter 
conformity  in  avoidance  of  certain  amusements  and 
so-called  worldly  things,  but  recently  there  has 
been  a  tendency  to  greater  leniency  in  the  applica- 
tion of  church  discipline  in  such  matters.  The 
government  of  the  church  has  been  chiefly  in  the 
hands  of  the  ministers  except  in  groups  like  the 
Methodist  Protestants.  To  meet  the  criticism  of 
this  situation,  the  laity,  in  recent  years,  have  been 
given  a  somewhat  larger  place  than  before  in  the 
general  church  organizations  of  the  largest  body 
of  Methodists.  The  ministry  has  but  two  orders, 
deacons  and  elders,  though  the  name  "  bishop  "  is 
used  for  the  office  of  the  general  superintendent, 
who  is,  nevertheless,  of  the  same  ministerial  order 
as  all  other  elders. 

The   Methodist   Episcopal   Church    (membership 
2,986,154)  has  its  local  churches  chiefly,  though  not 
o 


2IO  Positive  Protestantism 

entirely,  in  the  Northern  States  and  quite  wholly 
among  white  people.  Early  in  the  last  century  the 
Negro  folk  felt  they  were  not  being  treated  justly, 
and  withdrew  from  the  main  body.  Four  distinct 
bodies  have  resulted. ^^  The  Methodist  Protestant 
Church  (membership  178,544)  agrees  in  doctrine 
with  the  main  body,  but  has  no  bishops  and  gives 
laymen  equal  representation  with  the  ministers  in 
the  conferences.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South  (membership  1,638,480)  broke  from  the  main 
body  over  the  questions  involved  in  the  Civil  War. 
Its  positions  now  are  practically  those  of  the  main 
body,  but  it  has  some  differences  in  lay  representa- 
tion in  government.  It  maintains  its  churches  even 
in  the  same  community  with  churches  of  the  main 
body.  The  Free  Methodists  (membership  32,838) 
came  into  being  to  protest  against  membership  in 
secret  societies,  pew-rents,  and  the  abuse  of  ex- 
ecutive power  and  ecclesiastical  authority.  This 
body  is  like  other  Methodists,  except  that  it  em- 
phasizes entire  sanctification  and  insists  on  a  most 
rigid  application  of  church  discipline  and  a  most 
rigorous  view  of  the  hereafter.^^  The  separating 
differences  of  the  several  divisions  of  Methodists 

^  These  are  the  Union  American  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
(membership  4,347),  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (mem- 
bership 494,777).  the  African  Union  Methodist  Protestant  Church 
(membership  5.592),  and  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion 
Church  (membership  184,542).  An  additional  division  in  the  South, 
which  came  about  by  mutual  agreement,  produced  the  Colored 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church   (membership   172,996). 

13  There  are  several  small  additional  Methodist  bodies,  some  white 
and  some  colored,  some  with  the  name  Methodist,  and  some  with 
other  titles,  as  for  example  the  Pentecostal  Church  of  the  Nazarene. 


Divisions  of  Protestantism       211 


have  not  as  a  rule  had  their  origin  in  matters  of 
doctrine,  but  have  rather  had  to  do  with  church 
government  and  discipline. 

Closely  connected  with  the  Methodists  in  origin 
and  significance  are  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ. 
The  influence  of  the  Methodist  movement  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  of  German  pietism  upon  Ger- 
man-speaking  congregations   in   this   country,   and 
of   the   Mennonites   who   contributed   some  minis- 
ters and  people,  resulted  in  the  formation  of  this 
denomination.     It   is   altogether  probable  that  the 
body  would  have  united  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  more  than  a  century  ago  if  at  that  time 
that  church  had  encouraged  the  use  of  German  in 
the  church  services  of  this  group.     The  doctrinal 
positions  are  almost  identical  with  those  of  Meth- 
odists, and  the  form  of  church  government  is  practi- 
cally the  same.    There  are  two  bodies,  of  which  the 
larger  is  now   known  as   the  United   Brethren  in 
Christ   (membership  274,659),  and  the  more  con- 
servative seceding  group   (membership  21,401)   as 
the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ  (Old 
Constitution). 

The  Evangelical  Association  (membership  104,- 
898)  was  also  the  result  of  work  done  in  the  Meth- 
odist spirit  followed  by  the  refusal  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  to  minister  in  German  to  the 
German  people  of  "Pennsylvania.  This  body  is 
quite  Methodist  in  belief  and  practice.  Likewise 
is    the   United    Evangelical    Church    (membership 


212  Positive  Protestantism 

69,882)  which  also  makes  a  point  of  emphasizing 
the  fellowship  of  all  Christians. 

P'rom  the  Methodists  in  England  sprang  the  Sal- 
vation Army  (membership  in  this  country  22,908), 
which  has  become  such  an  evangelistic  and  philan- 
thropic force  in  so  many  places.  The  general  theo- 
logical opinions  underlying  the  work  of  the  Army 
are  in  general  very  similar  to  those  of  the  Meth- 
odists. Two  smaller  similar  bodies  are  the  Amer- 
ican Salvation  Army  (membership  436)  and  the 
Volunteers  of  America  (membership  2,194).  The 
Volunteers  and  the  Salvation  Army  do  not  expect 
their  converts  to  remain  with  them,  but  rather  en- 
courage their  joining  some  church,  though  the  Vol- 
unteers, more  than  the  Army,  insist  on  this  policy. 

Methodists  ^"^  have  had  a  great  influence  upon 
modern  Protestantism.  The  Methodist  and  Bap- 
tist families  have  been  the  dominant  representa- 
tives of  that  type  of  religious  thought  and  life 
which  in  the  time  of  the  Reformation  was  seeking 
expression  in  manifold  variations  through  the  Ana- 
baptists. The  Baptists  have  run  truer  to  type,  but 
both  families  have  found  their  followers  chiefly 
among  the  masses  of  the  people. 

Outside  of  the  representatives  of  the  three  great 
channels  of  the  Reformation  and  subsequent  Prot- 
estant growth  there  are  some  lesser  currents.     One 

1*  The  Methodist  family,  including  those  bodies  springing-  from 
Methodists,  but  not  bearing  the  name  or  being  identical  with  them, 
numbers  in  all  6,244,209.  This  number  and  those  of  the  Dunkards, 
Quakers,  and  the  Baptist  family  (7,048673)  make  a  total  of  13,693,- 
372  for  the  Anabaptist  group,  and  with  Congregationalists,   14,393,862. 


Divisions  of  Protestantism  213 

of  these  is  the  tendency  to  rationalism.  Ever  since 
the  New  Testament  days  themselves  attempts  have 
been  made  to  square  the  conceptions  concerning 
Christ  and  his  person  to  the  philosophies  prevail- 
ing at  any  given  time.  One  result  has  been  the 
Unitarian  interpretation  of  Christ.  Though  in  the 
fourth  century  the  Council  of  Nice  declared  against 
the  teachings  of  Arius,  a  Unitarian,  and  though 
the  church  seemed  to  settle  down  to  this  decision, 
nevertheless  advocates  of  Unitarian  doctrine  arose 
from  time  to  time.  In  the  Reformation  period 
rationalistic  Humanism  created  some  Unitarian 
groups  which  influenced  a  few  of  the  Anabaptists. 
Other  advocates  have  continued  to  set  forth  their 
Unitarian  contentions  since  the  Reformation.  In 
our  country  advocates  of  a  Unitarian  conception 
of  God  and  Christ  separated  about  a  century  ago 
chiefly  from  the  Congregational  churches  of  New 
England.  The  resulting  Unitarian  denomination 
(membership  70,542)  has  no  creed,  and  refuses  no 
one  church  fellowship  on  doctrinal  grounds.  It  ad- 
heres to  the  congregational  form  of  church  govern- 
ment. Unitarianism  has  undoubtedly  affected  the 
religious  thinking  of  the  last  century. ^^ 

The  Universalists  (membership  64,158)  em- 
phasize chiefly  the  doctrine  that  ultimately  in  the 
hereafter  God  will  save  all,  after  men  have  suffered 

1^  The  rationalizing  tendencv  has  found  expression  among  the  Ger- 
man people  in  the  Ge^'man  Evangelical  Protestant  Ministers'  Asso- 
ciation (membership  23.518)  and  the  German  Evangelical  Ministers' 
Conference  (membership  11,186).  The  former  especially  is  Unita- 
rian. 


214  Positive  Protestanti. 


ism 


retribution  for  sin.  But  they  are  chiefly  Unitarian 
in  doctrine  also,  though  many  among  them  hold 
Trinitarian  views. 

Another  tendency  marking  the  Christian  cen- 
turies is  seen  in  the  formation  of  small  groups  to 
restore  the  simplicity  of  New  Testament  Christian- 
ity. It  found  repeated  expression  before  the  Refor- 
mation, and  has  since  issued  in  a  number  of  bodies. 
In  this  country,  where  no  ecclesiastical  power  can 
coerce,  these  sporadic  attempts  at  setting  up  New 
Testament  conditions  have  had  full  sway  and  have 
been  too  numerous  to  detail-  The  existence  of  these 
numerous  small  groups  without  strength  or  influence 
leads  some  to  think  that  Protestantism  tends  to 
break  up  into  many  divisions.  They  are  really  only 
slight  eddies  thrown  off  from  the  great  currents  of 
Protestantism  and  are  similar  to  the  small  groups 
which  have  always  from  time  to  time  sprung  up 
during  the  Christian  centuries. 

The  followers  of  Swedenborg,  the  Scandinavian 
mystic  and  mathematician,  are  organized  in  two 
bodies,  the  General  Convention  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem in  the  United  States  of  America  (member- 
ship 6,612)  and  the  General  Church  of  the  New 
Jerusalem  (m.embership  635).  The  small  number 
is  a  fair  measure  of  the  influence  Swedenborg  has 
had  in  Protestantism  after  a  century  or  more  of 
the  propagation  of  his  teachings. 

In  addition  to  any  special  denominational  groups 
of  churches  there  are,  according  to  the  census  of 


Divisions  of  Profestantism  215 

1906,  1,065  independent  church  organizations,  with 
an  aggregate  membership  of  73,673.  Some  are 
Baptist,  some  Congregational,  some  Lutheran,  some 
Methodist,  some  Presbyterian,  some  Reformed,  and 
some  others  have  various  denominational  names, 
but  none  of  these  are  affiliated  with  any  denom- 
ination. They  are  unrelated  among  themselves,  and 
have  no  significance  for  the  full  sweep  of  the  Prot- 
estant movement. 

To  summarize,  it  is  clear  that  the  large  number 
of  separate  ecclesiastical  names  of  various  groups 
which  are  used  in  statistical  tables  are  not  really 
indicative  of  nearly  so  many  significant  divisions 
of  Protestants.  The  different  denominations  fall 
into  the  three  groups  of  the  Reformation  time.  The 
Lutheran  family  is  fairly  unified  in  significance,  and 
its  smaller  bodies  are  hardly  to  be  regarded  as 
rivals  of  the  two  main  bodies  which  have  the  chief 
strength.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Presby- 
terians, who  are  the  chief  representatives  of  the 
Reformed  movement  and  who  have  been  closely 
associated  with  the  Congregationalists,  the  second 
in  importance  among  Reformed  bodies.  The  Epis- 
copalians have  been  influenced  by  the  Reformed 
movement  and  connected  with  it,  but  should  prob- 
ably be  regarded  as  distinct  and  outside  this 
group.  The  third  division,  the  Anabaptist,  is  the 
largest.  The  Moravian  and  Bohemian  Brethren, 
the  Mennonites  and  their  satellites  trace  their 
history    far   back   and   maintain   old   and   partially 


2i6  Positive  Protestantism 

national  traditions,  but  do  not  possess  much  sig- 
nificance as  rivals  of  the  larger  denominations.  The 
Baptists  of  various  kinds,  with  the  denominations 
which  have  been  historically  associated  with  them, 
such  as  the  Disciples,  Dunkers,  and  Adventists,  form 
a  very  large  and  influential  group  who  have  played 
a  large  part  in  the  molding  of  the  religious  life  of 
this  country.  Among  the  members  of  this  group 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  mutual  respect  and  sym- 
pathy, and  even  some  cooperation.  The  Quakers 
are  quite  distinct,  carrying  to  a  most  radical  issue 
some  of  the  Anabaptist  principles.  The  ]\Iethodists, 
with  the  strong  denominations  growing  out  of  their 
influence,  are  essentially  one  family.  Outside  the 
three  streams  of  the  Reformation  developments 
are  the  smaller  groups  showing  the  rationalizing 
tendency,  the  very  small  and  numerous  bodies  at- 
tempting in  a  more  or  less  uninformed  and  fanatical 
way  a  restoration  of  New  Testament  conditions, 
and  the  quite  large  number  of  independent  churches. 
It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  instead  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  different  denominations  in  this  countr}^, 
each  v/ith  its  separate  way  to  God,  there  are  really 
less  than  ten  important  divisions  with  distinctive 
and  numerical  significance,  and  even  these  are 
closely  related  in  three  or  four  streams  determined 
by  the  course  of  development  at  the  time  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  charge  of  sectarianism  and  consequent  in- 
stability made  against  Protestantism  is  often,  if  not 


Divisions  of  Protestantisin  21^ 

always,  based  on  the  supposition  that  the  cause  of 
division  is  creedal  and  due  to  the  absence  of  an 
absolute  teaching  authority.  Intellectual  or  creedal 
differences  have  figured,  but  it  is  not  chiefly  these 
which  have  made  the  greatest  number  of  divi- 
sions among  Protestants  in  this  country  or  which 
keep  denominations  apart.  Far  more  frequent  and 
powerful  have  been  the  differences  as  to  church 
government.  This  is  not  the  trivial  matter  which 
some  affect  to  believe  it.  The  world  is  still  en- 
gaged in  the  great  struggle  to  escape  political  autoc- 
racy and  to  establish  democratic  forms  of  govern- 
ment. This  same  struggle  proceeds  in  the  sphere 
of  religious  institutions  and  is  not  unimportant.  In 
the  struggle  many  undoubtedly  trivial  matters  have 
received  too  great  emphasis,  but  time  alone  will  tell 
as  to  what  is  important  and  what  unimportant  to 
establish  democracy  in  church  government. 

Also,  national  affiliations  of  various  immigrant 
groups  and  their  descendants  rather  than  differences 
of  theological  creeds  have  operated  to  perpetuate 
separate  religious  bodies  even  within  the  same  de- 
nominational family.  The  immigrants  naturally 
foster  the  types  of  Christianity  to  which  they  have 
been  accustomed  and  which  are  associated  with 
natural  feelings  for  the  fatherland.  Germans  and 
Scandinavians  especially  have  been  tenacious  of 
national  language  and  traditions.  The  racial  asso- 
ciations of  Negroes  and  the  prejudices  against  them 
explain   still   further   various   separate   bodies.      It 


2jS  Positive  Protestantism 

is  altogether  likely  that  differences  arising  from 
European  distinctions  will  tend  to  disappear  as  the 
people  maintaining  them  become  more  completely 
absorbed  into  the  American  people. 

Other  non-intellectual  influences  which  explain 
especially  the  divisions  of  some  of  the  smaller 
bodies,  are  the  power  of  a  strong  personality  pos- 
sessed with  the  importance  of  some  idea  or  conten- 
tion, and  the  raising  of  some  moral  question  like 
slavery  or  of  some  disciplinary  question  like  wear- 
ing jewelry  or  belonging  to  a  secret  society.  It  will 
take  time  for  the  sentiments  aroused  by  these  in- 
fluences so  to  fall  away  that  they  will  cease  to  be 
a  part  of  the  lesser  dividing  forces  of  Protestants. 

Whether  it  is  possible  to  overcome  these  causes 
of  division  and  in  what  measure  already  Protestant 
bodies  have  been  brought  to  cooperate  will  be  shown 
in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  UNITY  AND  COOPERATION  OF   PROTESTANTISM 

In  such  an  upheaval  as  the  Reformation  unanimity 
was  naturally  lacking.  Just  as  naturally  differences 
continued  and  also  developed.  When  some  leader 
or  some  group  found  what  they  regarded  as  a  new 
view  of  truth,  forthwith,  without  looking  the  field 
over  to  find  v/hether  this  particular  view  was  al- 
ready advocated,  a  new  group  was  formed.  What 
could  have  been  more  natural  than  that  immigrants 
to  this  country  should  join  with  their  respective 
fellow  countrymen  in  religious  activities  and  that 
thus  nationalistic  associations  should  become  so 
fixed  and  dear  that  they  would  stand  in  the  way 
of  merging  organizations?  Disparateness  among 
Christians  has  existed  throughout  the  centuries  in 
some  degree  and  in  all  branches  of  the  church, 
Oriental,  Roman,  and  Protestant.  It  is  the  dis- 
parateness which  is  inevitable  in  the  development 
of  life.  Life  has  always  been  manifold  and  must 
be  so  in  religion.  As  a  tree  unfolds  into  its  branches 
and  leaves,  so  has  Christianity  into  various  bodies 
of  Christians.  Protestantism  is  distinct  from  other 
branches  of  the  church  in  that  its  essential  spirit 
has  not  been  to  prevent  entirely  this  disparateness, 

219 


220  Positive  Protestantism 

but  rather  to  encourage  the  fullest  and  most  mani- 
fold development  of  life,  holding  only  to  those 
restrictions  placed  by  Christ  himself  and  by  the 
Scripture.  Protestantism  has  benefited  the  world 
in  that  through  one  of  its  streams  has  come  the 
world's  greatest  spiritual  treasure — religious  liberty. 
The  disparateness  of  Protestantism  is,  therefore,  in 
line  with  its  essential  spirit  and  great  contribution, 
and  is  not  without  value.  Its  very  naturalness  helps 
us  to  understand  it,  and  its  connection  with  freedom 
may  help  us  to  value  it. 

This  conclusion  proves  even  more  satisfactory  as 
one  comes  to  realize  that  this  disparateness  is  not 
necessarily  incompatible  with  a  real  unity,  a  unity 
that  means  effective  cooperation.  In  spite  of  the 
apparent  mutuality  of  antagonisms  among  Protes- 
tants, the  consciousness  of  oneness  when  relations 
to  Romanism  are  considered  has  almost  always 
been  strong.  More  than  that,  for  a  long  time  the 
consciousness  of  unity  has  been  gaining  headway. 
For  a  hundred  years  in  this  country  there  have  been 
movements  and  agitations  for  union.  These  move- 
ments have  not  succeeded,  but  nevertheless  the 
cause  of  unity  has  made  progress.  The  old-time 
bitterness  of  denominational  controversy  is  largely 
passed.  A  spirit  of  comity  is  possessed  by  some 
people  in  practically  all  of  the  denominations.  Vari- 
ous lines  of  activity  which  are  to  be  described  in 
a  moment  are  further  evidence  of  this  growing  con- 
sciousness.    A  number  of  proposals   for  unifying 


Cooperation  of  Protestantism  22t 

different  sections  of  the  same  general  groups  of 
Christians  have  been  made,  and  some  have  been 
adopted.  The  merging  of  the  Baptists  and  Free 
Baptists,  now  quite  an  accomphshed  fact,  is  an  ex- 
ample. Still  more  ambitious  projects  have  been 
launched  looking  to  the  uniting  of  all  Protestants. 
Consequently,  it  may  be  said  that  one  of  the  chief 
characteristics  of  Protestantism  to-day  is  this 
growing  sense  of  oneness  and  the  practical  mani- 
festation of  the  same  in  actual  cooperation. 

From  the  developments  thus  far  several  things 
seem  clear.  One  is  that  no  existing  body  of  Chris- 
tians can  absorb  all  the  rest,  and  no  new  body  can 
be  formed  with  a  platform  of  beliefs  and  ecclesias- 
tical practices  acceptable  to  all  Protestants.  Re- 
ligious conceptions  weighted  with  associations  of  a 
historic  group,  and  specific  ecclesiastical  practices 
sanctified  by  long  usage,  are  so  deep-seated  among 
various  divisions  of  Christians  that  it  is  hopeless  to 
try  to  get  Protestants  to  do  to-day  what  has  never 
for  any  length  of  time  or  over  any  wide  extent 
of  the  world  been  done  by  Christians  during  the 
entire  history  of  Christianity.^  The  temperamen- 
tal differences  of  people  alone  are  strong  enough  to- 
day as  they  have  always  been  to  make  divisions  in 
the  church.  Absolute  uniformity  is  impossible,  and, 
if  achieved,  would  soon  be  broken  up  again.     It  is 

1  Undoubtedly  the  World  Conference  on  Faith  and  Order,  in  which 
many  denominaf'ons  are  now  participatine,  will  do  good  by  revealing 
the  fundamental  conceptions  which  great  groups  conscientiously  hold 
to  be  worthful.  But  this  Conference  will  hardly  find  a  platform  upon 
which  all  will  be  willing  to  stand. 


222  Positive  Protestantism 

quite  useless,  therefore,  to  expect  an  organic  union 
of  all  Christians  which  involves  entire  elimination 
of  differences. 

Quite  another  conclusion  has  been  reached  by 
actual  experience  in  attempting  union  of  religious 
bodies.  It  is  certain  that  unless  various  organ- 
izations which  possess  in  the  aggregate  huge  trust 
funds  are  ready  to  jeopardize  their  possessions  by 
merging  different  religious  corporations,  organic 
union  is  out  of  the  question.  For  example,  when 
the  Baptists  a  few  years  ago  were  in  the  process 
of  organizing  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention,  and 
the  question  arose  of  merging  some  of  the  different 
denominational  Societies,  it  was  found  impossible 
to  arrange  such  mergers  because  of  the  jeopardizing 
of  funds.  If  this  is  the  situation  in  regard  to  the 
uniting  of  organizations  within  the  same  denomina- 
tion, how  much  more  difficult  will  be  the  attempt  to 
overcome  the  legal  obstacles  to  the  organic  union  of 
two  distinct  denominations.  It  is  wholly  improbable 
that  the  various  religious  bodies  of  this  country  will 
ever  run  the  risk  of  alienating  the  vast  endowments 
for  educational,  philanthropic,  missionary,  and  other 
purposes  in  order  to  have  one  single  ecclesiastical 
organization  which  will  absorb  all  others. 

Perhaps  the  various  bodies  would  be  willing  to 
give  up  these  endowments  if  a  sufficiently  great  ad- 
vantage was  to  be  gained  by  the  formation  of  a 
single  organization  of  Christians.  But  quite  aside 
from  the  difficulties  of  such  mergers,  there  is  some 


Cooperation  of  Protestantism  223 

positive  benefit  in  denominationalism.  For  one 
thing,  the  internal  disparateness  of  Protestantism  is 
both  a  symbol  and  a  bulwark  of  religious  liberty. 
Without  liberty  the  various  denominations  could 
never  have  lived.  Without  denominations,  it  is  at 
least  conceivable  that  liberty  might  disappear,  for  it 
was  achieved  in  part  by  denominational  struggle. 
Moreover,  the  varied  emphasis  of  the  several  Prot- 
estant divisions  keeps  alive  an  adequate  appreciation 
of  the  many-sidedness  of  Christian  truth  and  pre- 
vents any  of  the  important  aspects  of  Christian 
teaching  from  falling  into  obscurity.  It  was  pre- 
cisely in  that  period  of  the  history  of  Christianity 
w^hen  one  great  section  of  the  church  had  made  the 
nearest  approach  to  the  uniformity  which  many  seem 
to  desire,  that  the  most  precious  conceptions  of  the 
New  Testament  w^ere  entirely  obscured  and  over- 
laid with  ideas  quite  out  of  harmony  with  scrip- 
tural Christianity.  It  took  the  revolution  of  the 
Reformation  and  all  of  the  subsequent  development 
to  win  back  those  spiritual  treasures.  Can  we  be 
so  sure  that  these  various  aspects  which  need  to  be 
emphasized  as  long  as  the  world  lasts  are  so  firmly 
held  that  they  have  no  need  of  the  propagating 
agencies  w^hich  rescued  them  from  oblivion  and 
reestablished  them  in  Christendom  ?  We  may  rather 
conclude  that  the  development  of  Protestantism  and 
of  the  movement  toward  unity  makes  clear  that 
denominationalism  has  its  value  for  maintaining  re- 
ligious liberty  and  the  fulness  of  Christian  teaching. 


224  Positive  PrGtcstantism 

We  might  add  that  the  friendly  rivalry  among  vari- 
ous groups  is  also  capable  of  yielding  real  worth. 

To  what  then  may  we  hope  the  growing  con- 
sciousness of  unity  will  lead?  It  has  already  led  to 
the  conviction  that  it  is  possible  for  the  widest  di- 
vergence of  theological  opinions  and  even  of  eccle- 
siastical practices  to  obtain  along  with  a  thorough 
sense  of  the  essential  oneness  of  Protestantism. 
For  any  further  development  of  unity  this  convic- 
tion is  absolutely  essential  and  primary.  Various 
Protestant  organizations  have  found  that  coopera- 
tion in  practical  activities  is  possible  on  the  basis 
of  the  validity  of  this  conviction.  In  this  discovery 
Protestantism  has  entered  a  new  road,  the  road 
that  leads  to  efficient  unity  of  action  with  the 
greatest  freedom  of  belief  and  ecclesiastical  prac- 
tice. Cooperation  in  common  tasks  with  utter  free- 
dom in  personal  and  denominational  convictions  and 
with  mutual  respect  for  denominational  loyalties 
unlocks  the  door  to  effectual  Protestant  unity. 

Actual  realizations  of  working  unity  have  pro- 
ceeded either  consciously  or  unconsciously  upon  the 
basis  of  this  conviction.  These  are,  broadly  speak- 
ing, of  two  kinds.  The  one  consists  of  activities 
either  among  local  churches,  am.ong  denominational 
organizations,  or  among  individual  members  of  vari- 
ous denominations  which  have  grown  up  to  meet 
definite  practical  problems,  but  which  have  not  been 
concerned,  primarily  at  least,  with  promoting  unity 
as  such.     The  other  kind  consists  of  the  activities 


Cooperation  of  Protestantism 


of  organizations  whose  purpose  is  to  promote  unity 
and  to  amalgamate  the  activities  of  separate  groups. 
Thus  distinguished,  these  two  kinds  of  cooperation 
have  been  mutually  helpful  to  each  other.  A  brief 
description  ©f  them  in  their  various  distinct  and 
mutual  aspects  will  go  far  to  show  that  Protestant- 
ism has  already  achieved  a  considerable  degree  of 
practical  unity,  and  is  fast  making  progress  to  a 
complete  cooperation  in  practical  affairs. 

Education  is  a  sphere  in  which  denominations 
have  long  cooperated.  The  International  Sunday 
School  Association  has  been  a  potent  force  in 
building  up  the  Sunday  School  as  the  educational 
arm  of  the  church.  In  prosecuting  its  primary  work 
it  has  incidentally  given  impetus  to  the  growth  of 
unity.  The  American  Sunday  School  Union  has 
also  labored  in  this  sphere.  With  a  somewhat 
different  purpose  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  the 
Evangelical  Denominations  works  in  the  educational 
field.  Related  in  a  general  way  to  these  organiza- 
tions are  the  interdenominational  movements  of 
adult  classes  and  brotherhoods.  The  interdenom- 
inational activities  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  So- 
ciety are  too  familiar  to  need  description.  Older 
and  just  as  well  known  are  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  A  newer  organization,  the  Religious 
Education  Association,-  is  trying  to  do  for  religious 

2  This  organization  is  composed  of  individuals  as  such  rather  than 
of  representatives  of  churches,  and  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  solely 
Protestant,  though  consisting  chiefly  of  Protestant  educational  lead- 
ers. 


226  Positive  Protestantism 

education  what  the  National  Education  Society  is 
doing  for  secular  education.  The  mere  mention 
of  these  different  bodies  indicates  somewhat  the 
wide  extent  of  the  cooperation  of  Protestantism  in 
the  field  of  religious  education. 

Another  sphere  in  which  cooperation  has  been 
in  a  large  measure  achieved  is  that  of  missionary 
endeavors. 

In  the  field  of  home  missions,  that  is,  missions  in 
our  own  country,  there  are  two  unifying  organ- 
izations. The  Home  Missions  Council  represents 
the  general  organizations  of  the  various  constituent 
denominations,  while  the  Council  of  Women  for 
Home  Missions  is  the  interdenominational  organ- 
ization of  the  women's  societies  of  the  several 
groups.  A  description  of  one  will  be  sufficient.  The 
annual  report  of  the  Home  Missions  Council  for 
191 5  gives  the  constituency  as  thirty-four  denom- 
inational societies,  representing  thirteen  different 
denominations.  The  Council  meets  at  least  once 
annually,  and  considers  the  problems  which  are 
common  to  home  mission  work  in  all  bodies.  One 
practical  achievement  illustrates  the  nature  of  the 
work  and  is  of  special  interest  here.  A  study  of 
a  certain  Western  State  revealed  that  only  11.2  per 
cent  of  the  money  spent  there  by  various  mission 
boards  went  to  communities  where  there  was  any 
denominational  overlapping.  Thus  it  was  shown 
that  the  main  problem  upon  such  mission  fields  was 
"  overlooking  "  the  many  communities  where  there 


Cooperation  of  Protestantism  227 

are  no  religious  services  rather  than  "  overlapping  " 
by  several  churches  in  a  community.  Plans  of 
comity  are  developing  whereby  the  fields  of  work 
will  be  so  divided  that  future  overlapping  will  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  at  least  until  all  territory  is 
well  occupied.  Through  cooperation  with  city  mis- 
sion societies  the  Home  Missions  Council  and^  its 
constituent  bodies  have  helped  these  local  organ- 
izations to  cooperate  interdenominationally  in  their 
respective  communities.  In  more  than  one  place, 
plans  such  as  that  which  has  been  employed  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  have  been  worked  out  whereby 
new  churches  are  started  only  after  interdenomina- 
tional consideration  and  agreement.  What  has  been 
accomplished  promises  still  further  adjustment  in 
the  future.  Here  then  is  a  kind  of  unity  that 
effects  practical  ends  without  eliminating  denomina- 
tions. 

The  cooperation  in  the  field  of  so-called  foreign 
missions  is  even  more  marked.  Most  outstanding 
and  most  comprehensive  in  its  constituency  of  the 
various  organizations  thus  unifying  missionary  work 
is  the  international  and  interdenominational  move- 
ment which  had  its  culmination,  after  half  a  cen- 
tury of  periodical  conferences,  in  the  Ecumenical 
Missionary  Conference  which  met  in  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  in  1910.^  The  endeavors  of  the  Con- 
ference are  being  carried  out  in  a  measure  by  the 

3  A  brief  account  of  this  movement  may  be  found  in  "  Christian 
Unity  at  Work,"  pp.  82f.,  published  by  the  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America. 


228  Positive  Protestantism 

Continuation  Committee,  which  aims  to  make  per- 
manent contributions  to  the  collective  activities  of 
foreign  mission  boards.  One  of  the  practical  re- 
sults of  this  Conference  has  been  the  organization 
of  national  boards  of  missionary  education  in  this 
country  and  England,  which  are  planning  for  the 
better  training  of  missionaries.  Another  result 
has  been  the  holding  at  Panama  in  191 6  of  the  con- 
ference to  consider  religious  and  moral  conditions 
in  South  America. 

The  efforts  of  this  world  organization  are  sup- 
plemented by  those  of  interdenominational  agen- 
cies in  our  own  land.  The  Foreign  Missions  Con- 
ference of  North  America  is  a  combination  of 
representatives  of  foreign  mission  boards  similar 
to  the  Home  Missions  Council  and  with  a  similar 
purpose  for  its  own  field.  According  to  the  annual 
report  for  1914  there  were  included  forty-eight 
societies  or  boards  belonging  to  twenty  different 
denominations,  and,  in  addition  to  these,  seven- 
teen other  societies  with  various  affiliations,  making 
in  all  sixty-five  cooperating  organizations.  Still 
further  related  to  this  Conference,  but  extending 
also  into  the  field  of  home  missions,  are  three  other 
movements.  The  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement 
started  as  a  plea  for  foreign  missions,  but  has  now 
broadened  so  as  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  mis- 
sionary interest,  and  has  the  cooperation  of  prac- 
tically all  denominations  interested  in  missionary 
work.     The   Missionary   Education   Movement   is 


Cooperation  of  Protestantism  229 

endeavoring  to  give  the  people  of  the  various  de- 
nominations adequate  information  about  mission- 
ary activities  and  to  enlarge  missionary  interest. 
The  Student  Volunteer  Movement  has  for  quite  a 
long'  time  been  securing  pledges  from  the  young 
men  and  v^omen  in  colleges  to  devote  their  lives  to 
specific  missionary  service/ 

The  cooperation  in  the  v^rork  of  foreign  missions 
extends  beyond  the  societies  and  boards  of  the 
homeland  to  the  mission  fields  themselves.  The 
tendency  of  churches  composed  of  natives  on  the 
foreign  fields  to  unite  is  already  manifest.  Indeed, 
in  South  India  the  churches  have  organized  the 
South  India  United  Church,  whose  object  is  "  to 
bind  the  churches  together  in  one  body  with  a  view 
to  developing  a  self-supporting,  self-governing,  and 
self -propagating  Indian  Church,  which  shall  pre- 
sent a  united  living  testimony  to  Christ,  and  worthily 
represent  to  the  world  the  Christian  ideal."  The 
same  tendency  is  to  be  marked  in  China.  In  India, 
China,  Korea,  Japan,  and  the  Philippine  Islands  the 
churches  have  been  brought  together  in  interdenom- 
inational organizations  while  still  maintaining  their 
denominational  affiliations.  The  spirit  of  unity  is 
also  manifest  in  the  organizations  and  conferences 
of  the  missionaries  themselves ;  in  union  educational 
efforts,  such  as  "  theological  schools,  medical  schools, 
colleges,  normal  schools,  schools   for  missionaries' 

*  It  is  of  interest  to  note  here  also  that  societies  similar  to  that  of 
the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North  America  have  also  been 
organized  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  in  Germany. 


230  Positive  Protestantism 

children,  and,  in  fact,  educational  institutions,  above 
the  primary  and  intermediate  grade,  of  every  char- 
acter " ;  and  in  interdenominational  publication  of 
hymn-books,  Sunday  School  literature,  and  other 
religious  periodicals. 

These  varied  and  extensive  cooperative  endeavors, 
excepting  actual  organic  union,  are  supported  in  a 
large  measure  by  the  sympathetic  attitude  of  the 
churches  and  missionary  societies  in  the  homeland. 
The  report  for  1912  of  the  Commission  on  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America  says :  ''  There  has  never  been  a 
time  since  the  German  Reformation  when  the  vari- 
ous denominations  were  so  closely  engaged  in  co- 
operative measures  for  promoting  the  kingdom  of 
Jesus  Christ  among  the  nations.  There  has  never 
been  a  period  since  the  beginning  of  modern  mis- 
sions when  denominational  differences  were  so  mini- 
mized and  the  great  fundamental  truths  of  our 
blessed  religion  were  so  universally  emphasized, 
and  we  advance  together  for  the  conquest  of  the 
world  for  Christ."  This  is  a  fair  conclusion  from 
the  facts,  and  is  even  more  justified  now  than  when 
it  was  made. 

To  these  cooperative  activities  in  missionary  con- 
cerns we  may  add  those  of  evangelism.  For  many 
years  now  it  has  been  possible  to  secure  hearty  co- 
operation from  various  denominations  for  evangel- 
istic campaigns.  These  have  had  different  forms. 
Most    frequently   they   have   been   of    the   strictly 


Cooperation  of  Protestantism  231 

revivalistic  type,  such  as  those  of  WilHam  Sunday, 
which  have  been  attracting  such  great  attention. 
At  other  times  there  have  been  campaigns  of  simul- 
taneous meetings  under  a  general  plan.  A  willing 
cooperation  has  characterized  most  of  them.  This 
cooperation  has  been  sometimes  that  of  an  entire 
community  and  sometimes  that  of  a  section  of 
some  great  city.  In  all  such  efforts  Protestants  have 
exemplified  the  willingness  to  unite  in  a  definite 
piece  of  practical  Christian  work  without  any  ques- 
tion of  denominational  aloofness  or  of  the  lack 
of  denominational  loyalty. 

A  still  more  striking  indication  of  the  ability  of 
the  adherents  of  different  denominations  to  work 
together  is  cooperation  in  the  same  local  church. 
Some  real  progress  has  been  made  in  meeting  the 
difficulties  confronting  small  communities  unable 
to  support  several  churches  of  various  denomina- 
tions. At  least  four  solutions  have  been  tried  with 
varying  success.  In  some  places  it  has  been  possible 
to  persuade  the  people  to  give  up  their  denomina- 
tional connections  and  to  join  a  church  of  the  de- 
nomination of  the  strongest  following.  A  different 
arrangement  is  that  of  the  interdenominational 
church,  wherein  members  retain  their  denomina- 
tional affiliations,  but  unite  in  the  single  organiza- 
tion of  their  community.  In  such  cases  membership 
in  the  old  home  churches  is  maintained.  Different 
from  both  of  these  is  the  "union  church."  Its 
members   give   up    all    denominational    connection, 


232  Positive  Protestantism 

and  the  church  itself  is  unattached.  In  the  multi- 
denominational  or  federated  church  two  or  more 
churches  unite  in  using  the  same  building  as  one 
congregation  with  one  minister  and  act  as  a  unit 
in  all  local  affairs  as  a  single  church.  Yet  each  of 
the  constituent  churches  keeps  its  own  organization 
within  the  composite  church,  and  these  separate 
and  distinct  organizations  maintain  their  own  de- 
nominational affiliations  and  activities.  By  this  ar- 
rangement the  advantages  of  cooperation  are  gained 
without  losing  denominational  sympathy  and  help. 
This  form  of  cooperation  has  been  carried  out  in  a 
number  of  places,  perhaps  most  successfully  in 
Massachusetts. 

Of  quite  a  different  character  is  the  cooperation 
in  the  field  of  philanthropy  and  social  service.  In 
some  such  organizations  churches  are  constituent 
parts,  but  in  most  Protestant  individuals  act  as  such, 
though  in  their  action  they  often  have  the  feeling 
that  they  are  representing  the  churches.  Practically 
all  such  organizations  make  appeals  to  the  churches 
for  support.  Cooperation  here  has  existed  not  only 
in  local  philanthropies,  but  also  in  some  having 
wider  spheres  of  activity. 

The  close  cooperation  of  Protestant  people  and 
churches  has  been  more  marked  in  some  of  the 
movements  of  public  reform,  local.  State,  and  na- 
tional. Among  numerous  concerns  in  this  field  the 
abolition  of  the  liquor  traffic  has  commanded  per- 
haps the  greatest  attention  and  unanimity  of  action. 


Cooperation  of  Protestantism  233 

The  Anti-Saloon  League  has  induded  representa- 
tives of  various  temperance  organizations,  but  has 
worked  a  very  great  deal  with  and  through  the 
churches.  There  are  other  similar  organizations. 
One  of  these  is  the  International  Bureau  of  Reform. 

The  cooperation  thus  far  described  has  in  every 
instance  come  into  being  primarily  to  take  care  of 
practical  situations,  and  the  emphasis  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  unity  has  been  secondary  if  present  at  all. 
In  the  city,  village,  county,  and  State  federations  of 
churches  we  come  to  the  second  kind  of  Protestant 
cooperation.  These  federations  seek  to  promote 
unity  as  well  as  to  prosecute  some  of  the  joint  tasks 
of  the  constituent  churches.  The  federations  of 
California  and  Massachusetts  are  typical  of  State 
federations.  The  Federation  of  Massachusetts 
claimed,  in  19 14,  to  represent  eighty-three  per  cent 
of  the  448,682  Protestant  church-members  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Good  examples  of  city  federations  are 
those  of  New  York,  Cleveland,  and  Indianapolis. 
Gradually  the  movement  is  spreading,  and  it  is  not 
too  much  to  predict  that  in  no  distant  time  Prot- 
estants in  most,  if  not  all,  communities  will  be  or- 
ganized to  do  the  work  which  requires  the  ac- 
tivities of  their  combined  resources. 

But  the  greatest  organization  working  directly 
for  church  unity  as  such  is  the  Federal  Council 
of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America.  On  January 
I,  191 5,  the  constituent  bodies  sending  representa- 
tives tg  this  Council  were  thirty,  with  a  combined 


234  Positive  Protestantisni 

membership  of  17,436,650  communicants,  which  is 
considerably  more  than  the  claimed  number  of 
Romanist  communicants  in  this  country.  The  Coun- 
cil is  doing  its  work  through  commissions  and  com- 
mittees whose  activities  cover  quite  completely  the 
vast  field  of  church  interests.^  Each  of  these  com- 
missions is  seeking  to  coordinate  the  corresponding 
activities  of  denominational  and  interdenominational 
organizations  and  also  to  adjust  itself  to  the  same. 
Some  of  the  commissions  are  going  beyond  adjust- 
ment and  are  making  new  proposals  of  cooperative 
work. 

One  of  the  newer  fields  into  which  the  Council  is 
pushing  is  that  of  social  service.  Already  existing 
denominational  agencies  in  this  field  are  cooperat- 
ing through  the  commission  of  the  Council.  In 
public  morals  too,  the  Council  has  exercised  effec- 
tive influence,  as  for  example  in  connection  with 
the  moral  conditions  attending  the  San  Francisco 
Exposition.  In  such  public  concerns  as  was  repre- 
sented in  the  Kenyon-Sheppard  Interstate  Liquor 
Shipment  Bill  the  Council  exerts  its  influence,  and 
maintains  at  Washington  an  office  through  which  it 

'  These  are  the  Commission  on  Evangelism,  Commission  on  the 
Church  and  Social  Service,  Commission  on  Peace  and  Arbitration, 
Commission  on_  Christian  Education,  Commission  on  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, Commission  on  Home  INIissions,  Commission  on  Temperance, 
Commission  on  Family  Life,  Commission  on  Sunday;  Observance, 
Commission  on  the  Church  and  Country  Life,  Comnrssion  on  Feder- 
ated Movements,  Commission  on  State  and  Local  Federations.  In 
addition  are  several  special  committees  dealing  with  matters  of  im- 
portance. These  were,  according  to  the  report  of  1915,  Joint  Com- 
mission on  Theological  Seminaries,  Committee  of  One  Hundred  on 
the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  American  Church  Committee  on  Peace 
Centenary,  Committee  on  Relations  with  Japan,  and  Committee  on 
Special  Interest  of  the  Colored  Denominations. 


Cooperation  of  Protestantism  235 

may  quickly  act.  The  Federal  Council,  along  with 
the  Home  Missions  Council,  was  instrumental  in 
securing,  after  a  ten  years'  campaign,  the  passage 
of  a  law  which  increased  to  an  adequate  number  the 
chaplains  of  the  national  navy.  Furthermore,  "  ar- 
rangements have  been  made  with  the  Associated 
Press  and  the  United  Press  by  which  "  the  Council 
"  is  securing  larger  publicity  regarding  the  united 
work  of  the  churches,  and  also  for  the  general  re- 
ligious matters  which  are  of  common  interest." 
These  varied  activities  are  but  a  suggestion  of  what 
the  Council  may  do  in  unifying  the  Christian  work 
of  our  land.^ 

The  Council  goes  still  further.  It  does  not  con- 
fine itself  to  the  internal  affairs.  It  has  taken  ef- 
fective action  in  the  field  of  international  relations. 
In  the  controversy  over  the  atrocities  perpetrated 
in  the  Congo  it  used  its  influence.  At  the  time 
of  the  presentation  by  President  Taft  of  the  arbi- 
tration treaty  to  Great  Britain,  the  Council  spoke 
wisely  the  opinion  of  the  leaders  of  Protestantism 
in  this  country.  Wide  publicity  was  given  to  the 
statement.  Two  representatives  of  the  Council  were 
sent  to  Japan  to  study  the  Japanese  situation  and  to 
give  the  Japanese  people  a  correct  impression  of  the 
attitude  of  Protestant  America  toward  their  nation. 
The  results  of  this  embassy  have  been  gratifying.    In 

« An  additional  contribution  of  the  Council  has  been  the  creation 
and  collection  of  literature  bearing  on  Christian  unity.  See  Annual 
Reports  of  the  Executive  Committee  for  191 3  (pp.  44f-)  and  f'^r 
1914  (pp.  64-67),  and  also  C.  S.  MacFarland,  "  The  Churches  of  the 
Federal  Council,"  pp.  264-266. 


236  Positive  Protestantism 

the  movement  for  permanent  international  peace  the 
Council  is  working  with  other  peace  agencies.  Some 
correspondence  with  leaders  in  other  countries  has 
been  had  with  reference  to  international  cooperation 
in  religious  affairs.  The  American  section  of  the 
Evangelical  Alliance  ^  has  asked  the  Council  to  take 
charge  in  the  future  of  the  arrangements  for  the 
Week  of  Prayer.  A  definite  proposal  is  now  under 
consideration  for  the  calling  of  a  World  Congress 
of  the  Churches  which  will  aim  to  do  for  the  entire 
church  work  what  the  Ecumenical  Conference  of 
Edinburgh  did  for  missions.  It  is  thus  to  be  seen 
that  whereas  the  accomplishments  in  unity  made 
by  the  Federal  Council  are  already  considerable, 
the  possibilities  for  further  development  are  still 
greater.^ 

The  editor  of  one  of  the  most  influential  and 
widely  circulated  journals  of  our  country  once  said: 
"  The  Federal  Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America  has  supplanted  no  denomination,  it  has 
drawn  no  new  creed,  it  has  substituted  for  the  pres- 
ent church  organizations  no  new  organization,  nor 
has  it  caused  one  organization  to  absorb  another. 
It  has  simply  done  for  the  Protestant  churches  of 
America  what  the  Confederation  did  for  the  Amer- 

''The  Evangelical  Alliance,  a  voluntary  organization,  is  composed 
of  individuals  from  various  denominatinns,  and  has  sections  in  dif- 
ferent countries.  It  is  another  manifestation  of  cooperation  of  Prot- 
estants. 

8  On  May  8  and  9,  1917,  the  Council,  assembled  in  special  session 
at  Washington,  sent  out  to  the  churches  a  message  concerning  the 
duty  of  the  church  in  the  hour  of  grave  national  need,  in  view  of 
the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the  war. 


Cooperation  of  Protestantism  237 

ican  colonies — it  has  bound  them  together,  it  has 
enabled  them  to  work  in  union.  .  .  The  American 
States,  when  they  were  first  federated,  were  as 
truly  a  nation  as  they  are  to-day.  The  Federal 
Council  demonstrates  the  fact,  not  only  that  union 
is  practicable,  but  also  that  it  has  been  achieved." 

In  view  of  even  this  abbreviated  presentation  of 
the  present  cooperation  among  Protestants,  it  is 
amazing  to  hear  uninformed  people  talk  of  the  lack 
of  solidarity  and  efficiency  of  Protestantism  as  com- 
pared with  Romanism.  In  view  of  the  statements 
of  Romanist  officials  that  they  would  now  have 
thirty  million  more  people  than  they  now  claim 
if  they  had  kept  all  of  their  folks  who  have  come 
to  this  country,  it  is  futile  to  talk  about  the  effective- 
ness of  Romanist  solidarity  and  organization.  For 
certain  ecclesiastical  expressions  of  absolute  author- 
ity Rome  undoubtedly  exceeds  the  solidarity  of 
Protestantism.  But  in  accomplishing  the  tasks  of 
the  kingdom,  Romanism  is  a  loose-jointed  institution 
as  compared  with  such  a  denominational  organiza- 
tion as  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  or  the  de- 
nominational missionary  boards  and  societies,  or 
some  of  the  cooperative  agencies  discussed  in  this 
chapter.  Perhaps  the  weakness  of  Romanism  here 
is  its  failure  to  enlist  the  services  of  the  laymen,  a 
failure  inherently  connected  with  the  belittling  of 
laymen  as  compared  with  priests  and  with  the  ab- 
sence of  any  controlling  or  even  influential  voice  of 
the  whole  people  in  the  affairs  of  the  church. 


238  Positive  Protestantism 

The  efficiency  of  Protestant  cooperation  hardly 
needs  an  apology.  Protestantism  does  not  possess 
and  does  not  desire,  but  really  opposes,  the  kind  of 
solidarity  which  Rome  possesses.  In  order  to  co- 
operate it  does  not  need  a  uniformity  of  creed  and 
ecclesiastical  practice,  which  is  at  any  rate  unat- 
tainable for  any  branch  of  the  church.  The  statis- 
tics of  the  really  important  denominations  which, 
without  great  increases  by  immigration,  have  grown 
faster  than  the  population,  and  the  reports  of  mis- 
sionary and  publication  organizations  reveal  the  real 
efficiency  of  the  several  denominational  organiza- 
tions. The  presentation  in  this  chapter  suggests  the 
efficiency  already  attained  in  cooperation.  The  or- 
ganized cooperation  of  Protestants  in  this  country 
is  not  perfect  nor  complete,  but  it  is  effective  and 
is  constantly  increasing  in  effectiveness. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   PROSPECTS   OF   PROTESTANTISM 

The  final  question  with  reference  to  Protestantism 
as  a  positive  religious  force  concerns  its  prospects 
for  future  permanency.  Are  the  achievements  of 
Protestantism  to  date  a  permanent  contribution  to 
Christianity?  Is  Protestantism  to  be  absorbed  or 
displaced  ?  Cardinal  Gibbons,  in  "  The  Faith  of 
Our  Fathers,"  makes  a  comparison  of  the  prospects 
of  Protestantism  with  what  he  regards  as  the  out- 
come of  the  Arian  movement.  He  refers  to  the 
fact  that  Arianism  once  had  a  large  following,  and 
included  among  its  advocates  and  protectors  some 
of  the  world's  great  men.  In  spite  of  this,  the 
movement  disappeared  after  enjoying  a  period  of 
prosperity,  and  the  one  and  only  church  came  again 
into  its  own.  Likewise,  he  thinks.  Protestantism 
will  disappear,  and  the  Roman  Church  will  be  the 
only  Christian  church.  However,  this  prophecy 
overlooks  the  facts  that  Arianism  never  was  as 
deeply  rooted  in  great  world  tendencies  as  Protes- 
tantism is,  and  that  it  has  never  really  disappeared, 
for  its  doctrines  have  not  been  without  their  ad- 
vocates from  time  to  time  during  the  centuries,  and 
are   still   maintained  by   some   sects.     A  prophecy 

239 


240  Positive  Protcstantisfn 

entirely  opposite  to  that  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  is  war- 
ranted by  the  strength  of  Protestantism  and  its 
long  successful  history.  Undoubtedly  the  church 
of  Christ  will  go  on  as  long  as  the  world  shall  last, 
but  the  Romanist  stamp  will  not  be  upon  it.  Prot- 
estantism has  made  a  contribution  which  will  not 
be  lost,  however  much  the  Christian  church  may  in 
the  future  be  modified. 

Two  sources  of  increase  in  numbers  in  this  coun- 
try seem  to  convince  some  Romanists  of  a  final 
triumph  of  Romanism.  One  of  these  is  immigra- 
tion. But  in  spite  of  the  undoubted  increases  from 
this  source,  there  is  little  ground  for  comfort  for 
militant  Romanists  in  considering  immigration  to 
this  country.  The  immense  losses  admitted  by  Ro- 
manist officials  must  be  very  disquieting  to  them.^ 
Nor  can  this  immigration  continue  forever,  since 
economic  forces  will  tend  sooner  or  later  to  a 
greater  or  less  diminution  of  it,  and  the  working  of 
these  forces  may  be  greatly  quickened  by  the  re- 
sults of  the  world  war.  Besides,  the  constant  stream 
of  Romanists  coming  to  this  country  means  numer- 
ical weakening  to  Romanism  in  Europe,  and  in  the 
process  absolute  losses  are  sustained  here.  When 
these  considerations  are  compared  with  such  a  fact 
as  that  Baptists,  without  the  help  of  immigration, 
increased  in  this  country  during  the  last  century 

1  Protestants  of  the  right  temper  can  only  regret  that  multitudes 
of  immigrants  are  drifting,  or  have  drifted  already,  entirely  away 
from  every  type  of  Christian  church.  It  is  in  part  this  regret  which 
convinces  Protestants  that  they  are  obligated  to  engage  in  religious 
ministry  to  these  multitudes. 


Prospects  of  Protestantism  241 

three  times  as  fast  as  the  population,  the  statistical 
situation  favors  Protestantism  rather  than  Rome. 

Nor  does  the  supposedly  relative  larger  size  of 
Romanist  families  give  any  real  assurance  of  numer- 
ical preponderance.  In  the  absence  of  any  conclu- 
sive evidence  that  would  settle  whether  Romanist 
or  Protestant  families  in  this  country  are  the  larger, 
it  may  be  noted  that  the  birth-rate  of  Romanist 
France  is  notoriously  low,  and  that  as  Romanists  in 
this  country  become  prosperous  and  educated  their 
families  tend  to  diminish  in  size,  as  is  the  case 
with  people  of  other  religious  affiliations.  The 
situation  is  certain  to  be  further  affected  by  the 
birth-control  agitations.  There  ar^  no  known  cir- 
cumstances that  point  in  the  direction  of  the  dis- 
appearance of  Protestantism  or  even  of  the  probable 
relative  lessening  of  their  numerical  strength. 

The  external  stability  of  Protestantism  is  shown 
clearly  in  its  possession  of  vast  material  resources. 
Thomas  Nixon  Carver's  book,  "  The  Religion  Worth 
While,"  argues  that  the  very  inculcation  of  Prot- 
estant ideas  of  frugality,  industry,  and  individual- 
ism has  led  to  the  superior  prosperity  of  Protes- 
tants. At  least  a  measure  of  truth  seems  to  inhere 
in  this  position.  If  it  be  held  that  this  superiority 
has  been  the  result  of  racial  characteristics,  it  is 
then  plain  that  Protestantism  has  been  especially 
adequate  as  the  religion  of  people  who  prosper. 
Possibly  race  and  religion  have  been  mutually  in- 
fluential. The  fact  of  superiority  remains.  The 
Q 


242  Positive  Protestantism 

statistics  as  to  church  property  emphasize  this  as  to 
Protestant  possessions.  According  to  the  Census 
of  1906  the  value  of  church  property  owned  by 
Protestants  was  $46.14  per  capita,  while  that  of 
Romanists  was  only  $22.22  per  capita.  Not  only  do 
Protestants  own  more  church  property  per  person, 
but  they  pay  better  for  what  they  do  own.  The  in- 
debtedness on  Protestant  church  property  was  only 
$2.13  per  capita  as  against  $4.09  per  capita  on  Ro- 
manist property,  and  was  only  5.7  per  cent  of  the 
entire  value  of  the  church  property  as  against  the 
Romanist  16.9  per  cent  of  the  entire  value.  More- 
over, the  great  bulk  of  the  industries  of  this  coun- 
try are  owned  and  controlled  by  Protestants.  So 
far,  then,  as  material  resources  mean  strength  for 
ecclesiastical  work,  the  Protestants  have  the  greater 
strength,  and  there  is  little  indication  of  their 
diminution. 

Protestants  are  in  possession  too,  of  the  most 
influential  institutions  which  make  for  the  mold- 
ing of  future  thought  and  life  in  this  country,  espe- 
cially educational  institutions.  The  greater  number 
and  most  influential  of  these  are  either  Protestant 
or  non-Romanist.  In  the  West  and  middle  West 
education  tends  to  come  predominantly  into  the 
hands  of  the  States,  and  so  to  be  officially  without 
religious  affiliations.  Again,  Roman  Catholic  stu- 
dents do  not  always  avail  themselves  of  their  own 
institutions'  privileges,  but  elect  to  attend  non-Ro- 
manist schools  and  universities.     The  efl"ect  of  this 


Prospects  of  Protestantism  243 

situation  will  be  inevitable  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
the  greater  contribution  to  the  scientific  and  intel- 
lectual world  of  the  last  three  centuries  has  been 
made  by  Protestant  minds,  and  has  been  in  closer 
harmbny  with  Protestant  than  with  Romanist  prin- 
ciples. Not  only  does  the  control  of  the  higher  edu- 
cation by  Protestants  promise  permanency  for  Prot- 
estant ideas  among  the  leaders  of  this  country,  but 
it  seems  to  indicate  that  not  a  few  Romanist  young 
men  and  women  will  in  some  measure  imbibe  these 
ideas  with  results  that  may  be  easily  imagined  and 
which  may  already  be  noted  after  a  little  acquain- 
tance with  such  people. 

At  the  basis  of  these  possessions  has  been  the  power 
of  Protestants  to  achieve.  No  one  should  desire  to 
deny  the  part  which  Romanists  have  undoubtedly 
had  in  the  development  of  this  country.  But  Prot- 
estants have  shown  indubitably  a  superior  accom- 
plishing power.  At  one  time  in  the  past "  it  looked 
as  if  this  continent  was  to  be  held  and  developed 
for  Rome.  Two  great  Romanist  empires  were  pro- 
jected with  the  most  ambitious  ends.  In  the  south 
and  southwest  the  Spanish  Empire  was  endeavor- 
ing to  build  up  a  vast  civilization  in  the  name  of 
Rome  and  to  the  advantage  of  Romanists.  In  the 
north  and  northwest  another  Romanist  power, 
France,  was  endeavoring  with  the  most  brilliant 
imagination  and  forecast  to  implant  a  new  French 
empire,  which  was  also  to  be  Romanist.    No  greater 

2  See  L.  W.  Bacon,  '*  History  of  American  Christianity." 


244  Positive  Protestantism 

political  powers  than  these  two  European  empires 
existed  in  the  world  at  that  time.  All  seemed  pro- 
pitious for  the  vast  undertakings.  But  these  dreams 
of  empire  went  glimmering  before  the  power  of 
England  and  her  colonists,  and  before  some  other 
Protestant  folk  in  this  land.  Certainly  no  such  op- 
portunity as  then  existed  for  the  settlement  and  de- 
velopment and  control  of  this  vast  continent  is  now 
possessed  by  adherents  of  Rome.  So  far  as  one 
can  see  no  such  opportunity  will  ever  return.  The 
failure  of  Romanism  in  the  past  argues  no  surer 
success  in  the  future.  The  innate  power  of  Prot- 
estantism to  maintain  itself  and  to  move  on  in 
achieving  progress  shows  no  alarming  signs  of 
abatement.  Rather,  it  gives  assurance  of  the  per- 
manency of  Protestantism. 

This  conclusion  is  strengthened  by  a  quite  addi- 
tional and  even  more  significant  set  of  considera- 
tions. These  pertain  to  the  mutual  agreement  be- 
tween Protestant  and  modern  conceptions  and 
forces.  One  of  these  conceptions  is  that  of  free- 
dom. It  is  the  very  essence  of  Rome's  genius,  which 
runs  always  to  an  absolute  external  authority  that 
must  be  unquestioningly  accepted  in  all  matters,  to 
be  opposed  to  freedom.  In  contrast,  it  is  of  the 
very  essence  of  Protestantism  to  demand  freedom 
and  to  promote  it.  In  this  it  agrees  without  doubt 
with  the  characteristic  drift  of  modern  life  and 
institutions.  Freedom  is  the  breath  of  life  for  the 
modern  world.     By  this   freedom  the  advance  in 


Prospects  of  Protestantism  245 

modern  times  has  been  made  possible.  Unless  the 
world  is  to  turn  backward  the  hands  of  progress, 
freedom  will  continue.  In  that  case  the  form  of 
Christianity,  whose  very  essence  is  of  freedom,  will 
prosper  and  abide. 

Closely  connected  with  freedom,  democracy  has 
made  steady  advance  in  the  modern  world.  For  the 
time  being  the  European  war  may  seem  to  give 
pause  to  the  rule  of  the  people.  Yet  some  elements 
of  th€  situation  point  strongly  to  an  increase  in 
democracy  after  the  war.  It  will  be  difficult  at 
any  rate  to  convince  the  people  of  this  country  that 
democracy  is  only  a  passing  phase  of  human  de- 
velopment. Here  at  least  democracy  is  certainly 
dominant  and  will  remain  so.  Nor  can  it  be  con- 
fined to  political  institutions  and  life.  It  will  find 
expression  in  the  sphere  of  religion  and  church 
government  in  the  future  as  in  the  past.  In  the 
Roman  Church  the  people  have  no  voice  or  vote, 
and  the  priests  and  officials  are  in  no  way  an- 
swerable to  the  people  and  removable  by  them. 
Pius  X  only  recently  declared  that  a  pernicious  doc- 
trine which  would  make  the  laity  a  factor  in  the 
progress  of  the  church.^  Consequently,  if  democ- 
racy is  really  one  of  the  permanent  trends  of 
human  development  which  is  to  affect  not  only 
political,  but  also  religious  institutions,  Protestant- 
ism, with  its  democracy  of  spirit  and  church  govern- 
ment, has  the  better  prospects  of  permanency. 

'See  Newman  Smyth,  "Passing  Protestantism,"  p.  51. 


246  Positive  Protestantism 

A  similar  conclusion  is  to  be  drawn  from  the 
mutual  relationship  existing  between  Protestantism 
and  the  development  of  modern  science.  Scientific 
methods  of  thought  dominate  the  modern  intellec- 
tual world.  It  is  as  likely  that  the  sun  will  cease 
to  shine  as  that  the  contribution  of  science  to  the 
ways  of  men's  thinking  will  be  utterly  given  up 
by  the  world.  This  development  of  science  has 
been  in  part  a  development  of  itself,  and  yet  Prot- 
estantism has  had  some  share  in  it.  Science  could 
never  have  possessed  the  freedom  to  work  unre- 
strictedly without  the  accomplishment  of  religious 
freedom  by  Protestantism,  since  at  one  time  all 
learning  was  in  the  control  of  the  church.  Suf- 
ficient was  said  above  of  the  relation  of  Rome  to 
free  research  and  thought  to  show  how  essentially 
antagonistic  Romanism  and  free  study  and  formu- 
lation of  truth  are.  The  spirit  of  Romanism  and 
the  spirit  of  modern  science  are  utterly  incompatible. 
The  surreptitious  manner  of  the  dropping  from  the 
Index  of  the  strictures  upon  the  Copernican  theory 
is  an  indication  of  the  true  spirit  of  Rome  in  dealing 
with  science  which  does  not  please  her,  but  which 
she  can  no  longer  profitably  oppose.  But  as  in  the 
case  of  modern  freedom  and  democracy  so  in  that 
of  modern  science,  Protestantism  is  close  to  the 
heart  of  the  development  of  humanity,  and  conse- 
quently possesses  real  ground  for  permanency. 

Turning  from  the  harmony  of  Protestantism  with 
the  modern  Western  world  to  its  contact  with  the 


Prospects  of  Protestantism  2^y 

heathen  peoples,  strong  reason  for  assurance  still 
abides.  Protestantism  has  the  larger  prospect  for 
influencing  the  whole  world.  Her  missionary  enter- 
prises are  the  stronger.  Measured  by  the  funds 
specifically  given  for  these  enterprises,  by  the  rate 
of  increase  of  communicants  in  recent  decades,  by 
the  general  influence  in  various  countries  which, 
unlike  Rome's,  is  non-political  and  thus  recognized 
as  disinterested,  by  the  educational  service  rendered, 
and  by  their  medical  and  other  social  ministry, 
Protestant  missions  are  in  the  lead.  Protestantism 
has  abundantly  demonstrated  its  power  to  propa- 
gate itself  among  non-Christian  peoples. 

The  Western  world  is  greatly  influencing  with  its 
civilization  the  whole  earth.  The  Orient  may  make 
its  contribution  to  the  West,  but  the  East  has  al- 
ready, as  for  example  Japan,  been  absorbing  the 
Western  way  of  thinking  and  life,  and  the  whole 
world  will  undoubtedly  be  profoundly  affected  by 
Occidental  civilization.  In  the  certain  develop- 
ment it  is  inevitable  that  the  free,  democratic,  scien- 
tific modernism  of  the  \\'estern  world  will  be  an 
outstanding  feature  of  future  Oriental  civilization. 
These  elements  are  altogether  likely  to  be  accepted 
universally  earlier  than  any  type  of  Christianity. 
After  these  features  have  been  more  or  less  widely 
accepted,  the  type  of  Christianity  which  will  appeal 
and  satisfy  is  the  type  which  is  in  closest  harmony 
with  the  institutions  and  methods  of  thought  of 
free,  democratic,  scientific  modernism.     In  such  a 


248  Positive  Protestantism 

situation  Protestantism  without  any  question  is  in 
a  better  position  than  Romanism.  It  may  be  con- 
cluded that  Protestantism  has  excellent  prospects 
of  being  ultimately  the  type  of  Christianity  most 
acceptable  to  the  heathen  world  and  of  establish- 
ing itself  permanently  in  non-Christian  lands. 

In  contrast  to  Protestantism  as  it  faces  with 
assurance  the  modern  world,  is  Romanism  with  its 
many  defections.  It  is  not  necessary  to  point  out 
again  the  great  losses  among  immigrants  who  come 
to  this  country.  There  are  also  many  native-born 
people  now  members  of  Protestant  churches  who 
were  once  Romanists.  In  each  of  the  several 
churches  which  the  present  writer  has  served  as 
pastor  some  former  Romanists  were  members.  He 
has  himself  baptized  some  converted  Romanists. 
Probably  few  Protestant  churches  lack  some  con- 
verts from  Romanism,  and  consequently  the  entire 
number  of  such  converts  is  large.  There  are  also 
native-born  Romanists  who  have  dropped  out  of 
Romanism,  but  have  joined  no  other  church.  These 
defections  in  this  country  are  more  than  paralleled 
in  Europe,  whence  cornes  the  chief  increase  to  the 
Roman  Church  in  America.  For  some  time  an 
exodus  from  the  Roman  Church  has  been  pro- 
ceeding, and  many  of  the  seceders  have  become 
Protestants.*     The  same  general  drift  is  shown  in 

*  For  some  examples  see  Appendix,  Note  26.  For  a  full  statement 
ot  the  Eviropean  situation,  at  least  as  it  was  before  the  war,  see 
Loeppert,  "  Modernism  and  the  Vatican."  and  Bain,  "  The  New 
Reformation." 


Prospects  of  Protestantism  249 

this  country  in  those  Protestant  churches  which  are 
made  up  of  non-Enghsh-spcaking  people  who  came 
to  this  country  as  Romanists,  as,  for  example,  the 
Italian  Baptist  churches.  These  defections  cer- 
tainly do  not  show  a  decline  of  Protestantism,  but 
rather  a  decline  of  Romanism. 

This  is  not  the  whole  of  the  situation  nor  the 
more  hopeful  part  of  it.  Not  only  has  Rome  suf- 
fered from  defections,  but  there  are  some  internal 
movements  of  reform.  Sooner  or  later  modern 
science  and  thought  were  bound  to  influence  the 
multitudes  of  honest,  serious  priests.  The  inevitably 
resulting  movement  within  the  church  has  been 
designated  by  Pope  Pius  himself  as  ''  Modernism." 
As  rapidly  as  the  books  of  the  Modernists  are  pro- 
hibited others  are  written  and  published.  The  simi- 
larities between  the  views  of  Modernists  and  Prot- 
estants are  marked.  Newman  Smyth  describes  the 
Modernists  in  a  summarized  way  thus :  ^  "  When  we 
put  together  from  their  various  writings  their  objects 
which  from  their  several  points  of  view  they  desire 
to  see  accomplished,  the  list  of  their  aims  reaches 
considerable  proportions.  The  transformation  and 
purification  of  the  government  and  administration 
of  the  Church;  reduction  of  the  number  of  Italian 
cardinals,  and  an  increase  of  foreign  cardinals  in 
the  government  at  Rome ;  decentralizing  the  pontifi- 
cal power,  changing  the  papacy  from  a  too  monar- 
chical into  a  more  constitutional  rule ;  abandonment 

^  See  "Passing  Protestantism,"  pp.   io6f. ;  also  Loeppert. 


250  Positive  Protestantism 

of  its  bad  systems  of  coercion;  restoration  of  the 
autonomy  of  the  Episcopate ;  pubHcity  of  trials,  re- 
sponsibility for  decisions;  reforms  in  the  studies  in 
the  seminaries,  and  education  of  the  clergy  to  meet 
modern  demands;  participation  of  the  laity  in  the 
government  of  the  Church ;  changes  in  the  Congre- 
gation of  the  Index  and  other  councils  of  the  Vati- 
can ;  decrease  in  the  external  devotions,  and  a  spir- 
itual renovation  of  the  ceremonials;  removal  of 
corruptions ;  a  priesthood  better  trained  in  modern 
ideas  and  fitted  for  social  service;  and  to  some  ex- 
tent the  modifying  of  enforced  celibacy;  these,  and 
other  measures  of  renovation  and  progress  in  re- 
sponse to  the  needs  of  modern  life,  besides  their 
demands  for  liberty  to  pursue  critical,  historical, 
and  scientific  studies  within  the  Church,  and  the 
right  to  remake  theological  interpretations  of  the 
facts  and  faiths  of  Christianity,  constitute  a  suf- 
ficiently extensive  prospect  of  innovation  to  justify 
the  apparent  panic  of  the  Encyclical." 

This  encyclical  is  the  letter  of  Pope  Pius  X  at- 
tacking "  Modernism."  It  attempted  to  stop  honest 
thinking  and  was  supplemented  by  a  requirement 
for  every  priest  and  teacher  to  take  the  oath  against 
"  Modernism."  The  result  of  this  attempt  has  been 
far  from  successful  from  a  Romanist  point  of  view. 
Many  priests  in  France  took  the  oath  under  duress, 
and  then  wrote  their  bishops  anonymously  that  they 
had  no  intention  of  keeping  it.^    In  Germany  teach- 

^  See  Loeppert. 


Prospects  of  Protestantism  251 

ers  in  Romanist  institutions  could  not  be  compelled 
to  take  the  oath  against  their  own  desire,  because 
the  German  government  controlled  their  pay,  and 
would  not  countenance  any  coercion.  Men  outside 
of  Romanism  hope  that  the  Modernists  will  stay 
within  the  church  in  order  gradually  to  effect  a 
change. 

Modernism  has  not  yet  had  much  effect  in  this 
country,  perhaps  because  the  priests  here  have  been 
too  much  occupied  with  the  practical  affairs  of  the 
church  to  pay  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  intellectual 
questions.  But  if  Modernism  is  not  yet  strong, 
"  Americanism  "  is.  This  is  a  term  applied  to  the 
spirit  and  utterances  and  aims  of  certain  American 
prelates  whose  position  has  shown  the  inevitable 
influence  of  modern  Am.erican  ideas.  These  ideas 
are  markedly  the  possession  of  many  of  the  laity. 
The  opposition  of  many  laymen  in  this  country  to 
the  parochial  school  and  their  preference  for  the 
public  school,  the  insistence  of  many  people  upon 
obtaining  a  voice  in  the  government  of  the  church, 
the  friendly  recognition  by  Romanists  of  Protestants 
and  their  churches  as  Christian  in  spite  of  the  of- 
ficial teaching  of  Romanism,  and  the  appreciation 
and  espousal  of  American  ideals  and  principles  by 
great  numbers  of  Romanists  are  some  of  the  indica- 
tions of  how  far  Romanist  priests  and  laymen  in  this 
country  have  grown  from  medieval  Romanism."^ 

■^  For  the  effect  of  liberal  studies  upon  a  priest  of  open  mind,  see 
Appendix,  Note  27. 


252  Positive  Protestantism 

In  view  of  these  facts,  it  is  plain  that  Rome's 
hope  for  permanency  hes  in  strengthening  the  ten- 
dencies of  modern  thinking.  If  the  number  of 
Modernists  becomes  sufficiently  great,  a  result  far 
from  impossible,  Rome  may  find  it  necessary  to 
change  as  she  has  done  in  the  past.  From  one  point 
of  view  the  doctrine  of  the  infallibility  of  the  pope 
may  seem  a  barrier,  but  it  may  turn  out  to  be 
the  very  agency  which  will  facilitate  the  necessary 
changes  to  save  Romanism  from  extinction  or  rele- 
gation to  the  realm  of  the  ignorant.  It  is  incon- 
ceivable that  Romanism  will  abide  just  as  it  is. 
The  adjustment  to  modern  life  is  bound  to  be 
forced  in  some  way  and  bound  to  come  in  some 
measure.  Human  life  develops,  and  in  the  long 
run  the  development  cannot  be  stopped.  Institu- 
tions which  get  in  the  way  of  the  progress  perish. 
Rome  will  not  be  willing  to  perish.  She  will  be 
more  willing  to  change  in  spite  of  her  claim  to  un- 
changeability.  In  view  of  the  nature  of  the  modern 
world  and  of  the  relation  thereto  of  Protestantism, 
we  must  conclude  that  the  change  will  come  in  the 
direction  which  modern  progressive  Protestantism 
has  taken.^ 

Some  people  are  discussing  the  possibility  of  a 
drawing  together  of  Protestantism  and  Romanism 
and  the  point  of  contact  in  such  a  rapprochement. 

8  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  Pius  X's  attack  on  Modernism  acknowl- 
edges and  emphasizes  the  fact  that  Modernist  scholars,  who  profess 
to  be  loyal  Roman  Catholics,  are  in  close  agreement  with  the  schol- 
ars of  the  Protestant  world. 


Prospects  of  Protestantism  253 

The  only  platform  upon  which  there  can  ever  be 
harmony  between  these  two  branches  of  the  church 
is  the  platform  upon  which  Protestants  among  them- 
selves are  now  cooperating,  the  platform  of  free- 
dom of  theological  opinion  and  ecclesiastical  prac- 
tices with  cooperation  in  practical  endeavors.  In 
the  realm  of  social  service  cooperation  has  already 
been  secured  in  some  instances  and  in  some  mea- 
sure. A  larger  cooperation  is  possible  except  where 
Romanism  by  its  official  commands  prevents.  So 
long  as  Rome  regards  herself  as  the  only  Christian 
church  and  refuses  to  look  upon  or  treat  other 
Christian  bodies  and  people  as  Christian,  there 
can,  of  course,  be  no  cooperation.  Not  all  of  the 
bitterness  and  bigotry  are  on  one  side,  but  it  is 
a  simple  fact  that  Romanist  priests  and  Roman- 
ist people  are  prevented  by  ecclesiastical  authority 
from  cooperation  with  Protestants,  and  especially  if 
by  any  stretch  of  the  imagination  the  cooperation 
can  be  connected  with  religious  or  ecclesiastical 
recognition.  If  the  Roman  hierarchy  would  show 
any  fraternal  attitude  toward  Protestantism,  it 
would  find  a  warm  response  on  the  part  of  a 
great  many  Protestant  ministers  and  people.  A 
beginning  could  be  made  in  matters  of  social  ser- 
vice, and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  if  cooperation  can 
be  had  here,  the  mere  cooperation  with  its  attendant 
mingling  and  fellowship  will  be  bound  to  develop 
closer  relationship  and  mutual  regard.  Protestant- 
ism  does   not    fear   the    loss    of    its    influence    or 


254  Positive  Protestantism 

permanency  by  following  such  a  suggestion.     Can 
Romanism  come  to  the  same  point  of  view? 

Protestants  can  afford  to  cherish  fraternity  even 
though  Romanism  does  not  now  reciprocate.  To  be 
sure,  if  official  Romanism  becomes  aggressive,  as 
some  things  in  this  country  seem  to  indicate  is  the 
present  tendency,  Protestantism  will  be  aroused  to 
a  correspondingly  aggressive  propaganda.  If  of- 
ficial Romanism  or  individual  Romanists  set  out  to 
secure  control  of  this  country  in  the  name  of  Ro- 
manism or  seem  to  attack  any  of  the  social  or  polit- 
ical institutions  connected  with  freedom,  especially 
religious  freedom,  even  though  the  attack  is  only  a 
short  step  toward  encroachment,  Protestantism  will 
be  aroused  to  protect  itself  and  its  institutions  and 
to  secure  for  every  one  the  blessing  of  rehgious 
liberty.  Nor  will  it  be  deterred  by  the  cry  of  those 
who  first  raise  an  agitation  by  their  own  aggressive- 
ness, and  then  when  that  has  begotten  a  like  aggres- 
siveness on  the  part  of  Protestants,  declare  that 
they  are  being  persecuted  for  their  religion.  Prot- 
estants may  hope,  just  as  Romanists  may  hope,  that 
the  better  leadership  and  the  better  spirit  in  both 
wings  of  the  church  will  dominate  and  avoid  any 
undue  aggressiveness  on  either  side.  Meanwhile 
Protestants  have  good  ground  for  resting  assured 
in  their  convictions  and  for  going  about  their  tasks 
with  vigor  and  consecration.  The  permanency  of 
Protestantism  is  not  really  menaced  even  were  it 
verbally  threatened  as  is  sometimes  reported. 


Prospects  of  Protestantism  255 

Protestants  need  have  no  fear  as  they  face  the 
future.  They  may  be  assured  of  the  worth  and 
scrip turahiess  of  those  principles  for  which  Protes- 
tantism stands.  They  may  be  certain  that  their 
principles  are  in  accord  with  the  developments  of 
the  modern  world  and  with  what  the  world  seems 
about  to  become.  Their  past  achievements  have 
been  great.  They  already  possess  great  numbers, 
resources,  and  strength;  they  have  learned  in  a 
large  measure  how  to  cooperate  among  themselves ; 
and  they  seem  to  be  growing  stronger  persistently 
both  in  this  and  non-Christian  lands.  In  view  of 
the  signs  of  decaying  medieval  Romanism,  they  do 
not  need  to  be  concerned  for  the  permanence  of 
Protestantism.  They  may  hope  for  such  a  modern- 
ization of  Romanism  as  will  make  possible  at  least 
some  kind  of  Christian  cooperation  such  as  now 
characterizes  the  relations  of  the  several  Protestant 
bodies. 


Jlppenaix 


APPENDIX 


NOTE   I.      PERSONAL  MORALS  OF  THE  REFORMERS 

Zwingli's  personal  moral  life  was  not  nearly  so 
pure  as  that  of  Luther  and  Calvin.  His  marriage 
was  solemnized  by  a  ceremony  only  after  he  had 
lived  with  his  wife  for  some  time.  This,  of  course, 
cannot  be  justified  on  any  Christian  moral  grounds, 
but  it  can  perhaps  be  better  understood  when  it  is 
remembered  how  completely  celibacy  of  the  priest- 
hood had  failed  of  realization  in  that  day,  and  that 
consequently  many  pure-hearted  and  high-purposed 
men  sympathized  with  those  who  were  the  victims 
of  an  impossible  system,  and  were  looking  for  some 
way  out  of  the  muddle.  Of  course,  no  marriage 
ceremony  could  be  performed  until  a  part  of  the 
church  had  broken  with  Rome.  It  is  extremely  un- 
fortunate that  even  one  prominent  Reformer  per- 
mitted his  radical  ideas  to  lead  him  to  take  a  less 
conventional  stand  than  that  of  the  others.  The 
sweeping  charge  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  that  Luther 
and  the  other  Reformers  were  men  of  evil  life  is 
outrageously  untrue  to  the  facts,  and  is  entirely  out- 
side the  limits  of  a  fair,  judicial,  and  earnest  con- 
sideration of  the  relations  of  Romanism  and  Protes- 
tantism. 

259 


26o  Positive  Protestantisui  Note  2 


NOTE    2.       ROMANISTS     MODIFICATIONS    OF    LEGALISM 

Some  Romanists  take  refuge  from  the  unchris- 
tianlike  quality  of  the  idea  of  good  works  in  the  state- 
ments of  those  Romanist  theologians  who  seem  to 
modify  the  teaching  as  above  presented  (p.  68). 
For  example,  Moehler  makes  a  declaration  which  on 
its  face  seems  to  square  with  the  Protestant  teach- 
ing. He  says,  "  It  is  only  on  works  consummated 
in  a  real  vital  communion  with  Christ  that  the 
church  bestows  the  predicate  *  good  '  "  (**  Symbol- 
ism," pp.  i57f.).  How  little  this  actually  does  agree 
with  Protestantism  is  seen  in  Moehler's  position  that 
vital  communion  with  Christ  cannot  be  had  without 
justification ;  and  according  to  him,  "  Justification 
is  by  the  means  of  the  sacraments  either  originally 
infused  into  us  or  subsequently  increased,  or,  when 
lost,  is  again  restored"  ("Symbolism,"  p.  202). 
Thus  the  conception  is  back  again  on  mechanical, 
unethical  ground,  since  communion  with  Christ  is 
not  a  matter  of  faith  and  inner  spiritual  experience, 
but  depends  upon  the  performance  of  ceremonies. 
Moreover,  while  Moehler  may  be  correct  in  saying 
that  the  church  does  not  bestow  the  predicate 
"  good  "  on  external  deeds,  it  regards  them  as  meri- 
torious, which  is  the  point  for  consideration.  But, 
after  all,  the  opinions  of  individual  Romanist  theo- 
logians cannot  afford  any  relief,  for  they  must  yield 
to  the  authoritative  teaching  of  the  church.  Nor 
would  such  opinions  change  the  popular  understand- 


Note  4  Appendix  261 

ing,   distortions,   and  applications  of  the  church's 
teaching. 

NOTE  3.      ADDITIONAL  ROMANIST  DEFINITIONS 
OF  FAITH 

Bellarmine  says,  "  The  CathoHcs  say  that  faith 
has  its  seat  in  the  intellect."  "  The  Vatican  Council 
says,  '  Faith  is  a  supernatural  virtue  through  which, 
by  the  influence  and  with  the  aid  of  the  grace  of 
God,  we  believe  things  which  are  revealed  as  true.'  " 
The  Roman  Catechism  says,  "  The  word  '  faith ' 
signifies  not  so  much  the  act  of  thinking  or  opining, 
but  it  has  a  sense  of  obligation  (contracted  in  virtue 
of  a  free  act  of  submission)  whereby  the  mind  de- 
cisively and  permanently  assents  to  the  mysteries 
revealed  by  God"  (quoted  by  Coppens,  p.  no). 
Note  that,  according  to  this  Roman  view,  even  the 
act  of  believing  is  dependent  upon  the  grace  which 
comes  throu2:h  the  sacraments. 


NOTE  4.     OFFICIAL  DECLARATIONS  AS  TO 
"  INTENTION  " 

For  a  long  time  there  was  opposition  to  the  doc- 
trine of  intention  because  of  the  uncertainty  which 
it  introduced  into  the  Romanist  system.  The  Coun- 
cil of  Trent  defined  intention  thus :  *'  There  is  re- 
quired in  ministers,  when  they  efifect  and  confer  the 
sacraments,  the  intention  at  least  of  doing  what  the 
church  does."    An  ex-cathedra  authority  of  the  in- 


262  Positive  Protestantism  Note  6 

fallible  pope  was  put  upon  this  doctrine  of  Trent  by 
Alexander  VIII  when  he  denied  and  condemned  the 
following  proposition :  "  The  baptism  performed  by 
a  minister  wdio  observes  every  external  rite  and  the 
form  of  baptism,  but  within,  in  his  heart,  resolves 
with  himself,  '  I  do  not  intend  to  do  what  the  church 
does,'  is  valid."  Thus  the  denial  of  this  proposition 
makes  Romanist  baptism,  and  by  implication  other 
sacraments,  invalid  unless  the  priest  has  intended  the 
ceremony  to  convey  grace. 

NOTE  5.      THE  NUMBER  OF  SACRAMENTS 

As  late  as  the  year  750,  John  of  Damascus  betrays 
knowledge  of  no  other  ceremonies  to  equal  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Peter  Lombard  (iioo- 
II 64)  was  the  first  to  fix  upon  the  number  seven, 
and  the  Council  of  Florence  (1429)  was  the  first 
authoritative  body  to  settle  upon  this  number.  The 
statement  of  these  facts  is  sufficient  to  show  the 
justification  of  Protestantism  in  its  rejection  of  the 
seven  sacraments  and  in  clinging  to  the  two  chief 
and  primary  ceremonies  of  Christianity. 

NOTE  6.     THE  NECESSITY  OF  BAPTISM 

On  the  basis  of  the  exceptions  noted  above  (p.  85) 
it  is  sometimes  stated  popularly,  as  well  as  by  such 
a  theologian  as  Moehler,  that  Romanism  does  not 
regard  baptism  as  necessary  for  salvation.  But  such 
a   statement   is   contrary  to  the  utterances   quoted 


Note  6  Appendix  263 

above  which  require  baptism  for  the  forgiveness  of 
sins;  is  rendered  of  no  practical  rehgious  impor- 
tance since  the  number  of  cases  in  which  the  sacra- 
ment cannot  be  had  is  so  small  that  almost  no  per- 
sons come  under  the  definition;  and  is  entirely  out 
of  harmony  with  the  conception  which  prevails 
'among  Roman  Catholics  themselves  in  view  of  the 
constant  reiteration  by  priests  of  the  necessity  of 
the  rite.  The  grief  of  mothers  over  the  eternally 
lost  condition  of  their  babes  who  have  died  without 
baptism,  and  the  fear  that  grips  parents'  hearts  that 
their  children  may  die  without  baptism,  is  sufficient 
evidence  of  what  Roman  Catholics  have  been  taught 
as  to  the  necessity  of  baptism  for  salvation.  Those 
who  make  the  statement  referred  to  do  not  seem  to 
realize  that  it  involves  Romanism  in  an  inevitable 
and  fatal  inconsistency  by  making  it  assert,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  absolute  necessity  of  the  visible  church 
with  its  sacraments  and  its  authority  as  the  basis 
of  all  valid  Christianity,  and  on  the  other,  that  the 
only  true  church  may  be  dispensed  with  in  the  case 
of  baptism.  Were  Romanism  officially  and  authori- 
tatively to  declare  as  its  teaching  that  the  sacraments 
are  not  necessary  for  salvation,  a  long  step  toward 
bringing  Protestants  and  Romanists  together  would 
have  been  taken.  But  the  authoritative  conceptions 
of  Rome  imply  most  directly  that  baptism  is  neces- 
sary for  salvation.  A  striking  illustration  of  the 
contrasted  positions  of  Romanism  and  Protestant- 
ism at  this  point  is  to  be  found  upon  the  foreign 


264  Positive  Protestantism  Note  7 

mission  fields,  where  the  Romanist  missionaries 
baptize  as  many  heathen  as  possible,  even  secretly, 
while  Protestants  baptize  only  after  long  instruction 
and  probation.  The  reason  underlying  these  prac- 
tices is  obvious. 


NOTE  7.      A   LUTHERAN  S   STATEMENT  AS  TO   INFANT 
BAPTISM 

Von  Hase,  the  German  Lutheran  historian,  out- 
lines the  case  for  infant  baptism  thus :  "  The  piece 
of  Catholicism  in  the  heart  of  the  Protestant  Church 
is  infant  baptism,  in  accordance  with  its  significance, 
taken  over  direct  from  the  Catholic  Church,  as  ef- 
fecting ipso  facto  regeneration.  Luther  in  the  Cate- 
chism used  the  decisive  expression,  '  Baptism  with- 
out faith  remains  a  bare  ineffectual  sign.'  But  how 
can  this  faith  be  said  to  be  possible  in  an  infant? 
The  Reformers  one  after  another  took  up  the  dif- 
ferent Catholic  methods  of  helping  out  the  Catholic 
view,  that  of  the  faith  of  others,  whether  the  god- 
parents, or  of  the  whole  church,  as  reckoned  to  the 
immature  candidate,  or  that  of  a  mysterious  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  it  is  proposed  to  term 
the  faith  of  the  children  themselves.  It  was,  how- 
ever clear  that  the  great  conception  of  faith  on  the 
part  of  the  Reformers  must  be  surrendered.  .  . 
Luther  long  felt  that  here  lies  something  out  of 
harmony,  and  foreign  to  his  principle.  But  in  the 
presence  of  the  Anabaptists,  those  radicals  both  in 


Note  8  Appendix  265 

Church  and  State,  he  could  not  possibly  surrender  a 
tradition  which,  although,  it  is  true,  not  adequately 
confirmed  by  Holy  Scripture,  and  possessed  of  only 
an  individual  and  provincial  authority  in  the  early 
church  until  the  time  of  Saint  Augustine,  yet  since 
that  time  was  based  on  the  profound  affections  of 
Christian  families  and  of  the  church  at  large,  and 
fraught  with  blessing.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must 
be  candidly  admitted  that  the  baptism  of  children 
as  the  sacrament  ipso  facto  of  regeneration  apart 
from  faith  is  an  opus  operatum} 

"  Mohler  on  this  point  had  justice  on  his  side  in 
saying  that  the  baptism  of  children  on  the  part  of 
Protestants  is  an  incomprehensible  act,  '  If  it  is  only 
by  virtue  of  faith  that  sacrament  acts,  of  what  value 
can  it  be  to  an  unconscious  child  ? '  Just  for  this 
reason  Protestantism  was  driven  to  a  higher  con- 
ception of  infant  baptism.  .  .  According  to  this  the 
baptism  of  children  is  their  consecration  and  their 
dedication  to  Christianity  which  is  not  consummated 
until  faith  is  added,  .  .  for  by  that  time  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Dove  has  come  to  be  not  a  magical 
one  but  moral  and  religious.'' 

NOTE  8.      USE  OF  THE   WORD   "  PENANCE  "   IN   THE 
DOUAI  VERSION 

The  reader  of  the  Douai  version  would  be  likely 
to  think  from  the  use  of  the  word  "  penance  "  that 

1  A  completed  act  in  itself  sufficient  and  effective. 


266  Positive  Protestantism  Note  8 

there  was  scriptural  ground  for  the  Romanist  doc- 
trine as  to  the  sacrament  of  penance.  This  version 
has  the  expressions  "  do  penance  "  and  "  penance  " 
where  other  English  versions  have  "  repent "  and 
''  repentance  "  ( i  Kings  ^  8  :  47 ;  Job  42  :  6 ;  Ezek. 
18  :  30;  Matt.  3  :  2;  4  :  17;  Mark  6  :  12;  Luke 
13  :  3;  16  :  30;  17  :  3;  Acts  2  :  38;  8  :  22;  17  : 
30;  26  :  20;  Rev.  2  :  5,  16,21;  3  :  3,  19;  Luke  15  : 
7  having  ''  do  penance  "  for  "  repent  " ;  Mark  1:4; 
Matt.  3  :  8;  Luke  3  •  3.  8;  Acts  13  :  24;  19  :  4; 
Luke  15  :  7;  24  :  47;  Acts  20  :  21 ;  26  :  20;  Rom. 
2  :  4;  2  Cor.  7  :  9,  10;  Heb.  6  :  i,  6;  2  Peter  3  :  9 
having  "penance"  for  ''repentance").  Without 
a  knowledge  of  Greek,  which  in  itself  would  be  de- 
cisive, one  need  perceive  nothing  beyond  the  incon- 
sistencies of  the  Douai  version  itself  to  be  convinced 
that  the  usual  English  versions  which  Protestants 
employ  have  the  correct  translation.  When  the 
word  "  repent "  or  "  repentance  "  is  used  of  God, 
the  Romanist  translators,  unable  to  conceive  of 
God's  doing  penance  or  giving  penance,  had  to  keep 
the  real  meaning  of  the  Greek  (Ps.  no  :  4,  Douai 
109  :  4;  Jer.  4  :  28;  18  :  10;  26  :  3,  13;  Acts  11  : 
18;  Rom.  II  :  29;  2  Tim.  2  :  25 ;  Heb.  7  :  21),  and 
likewise  of  Christ  (Acts  5  :  31).  In  other  cases  the 
idea  of  God's  repentance  is  modified  and  expressed 
in  other  terms  (Exod.  32  :  12;  Num.  23  :  19;  Deut. 
32  :  36;  Jonah  3  :  9;  Ps.  90  :  13,  Douai  89  :  13; 

-  The  Douai  version   calls   i   and   2   Samuel    i   and   2   Kings,   so  that 
our   I   and  2  Kings  are  the   Romanis'^s'   3  and  4  Kings,   respectively. 


Note  Q  Appendix  267 

Ps.  135  :  14,  Douai  134  :  14;  Ezek.  24  :  14;  Joel 
2  :  14).^  In  one  case  the  word  "repentance"  is 
retained  in  referring  to  Esau.  (Heb.  12  :  17.)  But 
the  Romanist  inconsistencies  are  most  convincingly 
indicated  in  the  following:  In  Mark  i  :  15  the  Ro- 
manist translators  render  the  Greek  word  by  the 
English  "  repent,"  but  in  the  parallel  passage  in 
Matthew  4  :  17  they  translate  the  identical  word  by 
"  do  penance."  In  Luke  17:3  the  expression  is 
"  do  penance,"  while  in  the  very  next  sentence,  Luke 
17  :  4,  the  same  Greek  word  is  translated  "  repent." 
Thus,  almost  in  spite  of  themselves,  and  in  places 
perhaps  inadvertently,  the  Romanist  translators 
have  revealed  what  a  translation  true  to  the  Greek 
should  be.  When  the  Bible  is  read  in  the  original 
languages  or  when  such  a  translation  is  read,  as  for 
example  the  Authorized  or  Revised  English  ver- 
sions, now  ordinarily  used  by  Americans,  it  is  per- 
fectly plain  that  the  support  which  the  Douai  ver- 
sion apparently  gives  the  Romanist  contention  in 
regard  to  a  scriptural  basis  for  penance  is  entirely 
lacking.  The  Scriptures  know  nothing  of  doing 
penance. 

NOTE  9.     VACILLATION  OF  COUNCILS 

The  decision  of  four  popes  and  a  general  council 
permitting  communion  in  both  kinds  is  contradicted 
by  the  action  of  the  Council  of  Constance,  which  in 

3  Some    differences,   like    the   omissions    of   Ezek.    14:6   and    Matt. 
9  :    13,  are  probably  due  to   defects  in  the  Vulgate  text. 


V 

268  Positive  Protestantism  Note  lo 


its  struggle  with  Hussism  decreed  against  lay  use 
of  the  cup,  declaring  that  priests  administering  both 
kinds  should  be  regarded,  if  unrepentant,  as  here- 
tics. (Liitzow,  "  Life  and  Times  of  John  Hus," 
p.  267.)  A  council  at  Constantinople  (A.  D.  754) 
condemned  the  use  of  images,  another  at  Nice 
(A.  D.  ySy)  approved,  another  at  Frankfort  (A.  D. 
794)  condemned,  and  still  another  at  Trent  (1545- 
1563)  approved.  The  second  Council  of  Constanti- 
nople (A.  D.  553)  set  aside  the  Council  of  Chalce- 
don  as  to  the  heresy  of  two  Eastern  bishops.  There 
are  many  other  instances  of  such  disagreement. 

NOTE   10.      ROMANIST  AND  PROTESTANT  ATTITUDES 
TOWARD  DIVORCE 

In  regard  to  divorce  and  marriage  laws  and  dis- 
pensations, Romanism  again  shows  its  legalistic 
character.  Taking  the  records  of  Jesus'  words  con- 
demning divorce  and  remarriage  in  their  short  form, 
which  leaves  out  the  clause  excepting  adultery,  the 
Romanist  church  forbids  divorce  which  allows  re- 
marriage. But  there  are  plenty  of  grounds  on 
which  Romanism  may  nullify  marriage,  and  separa- 
tion is  possible  on  grounds  that  seem  far  from 
weighty.  For  example,  Gregory  II  pronounced  the 
bad  health  of  the  woman  a  sufficient  ground  for 
divorce  and  for  the  remarriage  of  the  man.  The 
definition  by  Rome  of  these  grounds  and  also  of 
the  laws  concerning  the  impediments  to  marriage  by 


Note  10  Appendix  269 

reason  of  kinship,  including  even  relationship  of 
godparents,  has  issued  in  the  past  in  direful  results 
in  real  life.  So  also  has  the  regulation  that  non- 
Romanist  marriages  may  be  dissolved  if  either  party 
thereto  is  converted  to  Rome,  introduced  a  most  un- 
just and  immoral  policy  in  some  countries.  It  is 
fortunate  for  sensible  people  that  these  ecclesiastical 
regulations  have  no  standing  in  the  courts  of  our 
country.  Rome  has  always  found  sufficient  justifi- 
cation for  dispensations  setting  aside  her  legalistic 
marriage  regulations  when  it  suited  her  purposes. 
Mixed  marriages  have  been  allowed,  as  Von  Hase 
points  out  and  so  fully  illustrates,  and  are  permitted 
to-day  but  with  some  severe  restrictions,  especially 
with  reference  to  the  rearing  of  children  as  Roman 
Catholics.  Coppens  says  (p.  337)  :  "  Before  grant- 
ing to  any  of  her  children  a  dispensation  to  marry  a 
non-Catholic,  the  church  requires  as  an  indispensa- 
ble condition  a  solemn  promise  that  the  Catholic 
party  shall  have  the  free  exercise  of  religion  and 
shall  endeavor  to  lead  the  other  party  by  conviction 
to  the  true  faith ;  also  that  all  children  to  issue  from 
this  marriage  shall  be  educated  as  Catholics."  All 
of  this  is  of  a  piece  with  Romanist  legalism,  exclu- 
sivism,  and  hierarchical  arrogance  as  a  whole. 

Protestantism,  on  the  other  hand,  takes  Jesus' 
utterances  concerning  marriage  as  ideal.  Un- 
doubtedly he  conceived  that  the  ideal  marriage  was 
of  one  man  to  one  woman,  and  was  to  be  indissolu- 
ble because  motived  in  its  beginning  and  in  its  main- 


270  Positive  Protestantism  Note  ii 

tenance  by  righteous  and  loving  purposes  in  accord- 
ance with  God's  aim  for  the  relation  of  the  sexes. 
But  Jesus  himself  pointed  out  that  Moses'  law  had 
been  given  because  men  could  not  keep  up  with  this 
ideal.  On  this  account,  and  particularly  in  view  of 
Jesus'  method  of  giving  principles  rather  than  laws, 
we  must  hold  that  this  ideal  is  to  be  applied,  like  all 
of  his  principles,  with  common  sense  and  with  rea- 
sonable consideration  of  the  main  purpose  to  main- 
tain the  best  possible  sex  relations.  Accordingly, 
Protestantism  has  a  more  liberal  attitude  toward 
divorce  than  Romanism.  The  innocent  party  in  the 
case  of  adultery  is  quite  universally  regarded  by 
Protestants  as  free  to  remarry.  In  most  denomina- 
tions other  grounds  in  keeping  with  Jesus'  main 
ideal  are  also  allowed,  and  each  minister  follows  his 
own  conscience  as  to  the  proper  course  in  each  case. 
But,  as  a  whole,  Protestantism  has  no  sympathy  with 
the  laxity  of  divorce  laws  as  administered  in  this 
country,  and  its  desire  is  to  make  divorce  more  diffi- 
cult and  remarriage  less  frequent. 

NOTE  II.    Rome's  failure  to  attain  unity 

Rome  has  never  attained  for  Christendom  the 
unity  which  she  sets  as  her  goal.  During  the  first 
three  centuries  of  the  church  there  was  a  perfect 
maze  of  sects,  each  claiming  truth.  Through  the 
centuries  there  never  has  been  complete  uniformity 
of  creed,  of  organization,  or  of  tradition.    A  sem- 


Note  II  Appendix  271 

blance  of  this  was  attempted  by  Romanism,  but  its 
assumptions  of  authority,  instead  of  eliminating  the 
tendencies  to  difference,  only  proved  the  occasion  of 
schism.  Thus  Rome  has  herself  been  the  great 
schism-maker  of  the  centuries.  She  assumed  to  ex- 
communicate the  entire  Eastern  Church  in  1054, 
under  Pope  Leo  IX,  after  a  century  of  controversy, 
because  the  Eastern  Church  would  not  acknowledge 
the  supremacy  of  Rome  to  which  the  East  had  never 
completely  submitted.  Rome  was  herself  internally 
torn,  especially  during  the  Great  Schism,  when  first 
two,  then  three  popes  were  anathematizing  each 
other,  and  had  to  be  dethroned,  and  a  fourth  elected. 
She  assumed  to  resist  the  rising  tide  of  reform  and 
intellectual  awakening  which  preceded  the  Refor- 
mation, and  to  excommunicate  all  Protestants  and 
those  having  any  connection  with  Protestants. 
Even  within  her  organization,  where  she  has  for 
several  centuries  maintained  a  semblance  of  outward 
unity,  Rome  has  not  been  able  to  prevent  differ- 
ences. She  has  not  yet,  after  centuries,  stamped  out 
the  differences  which  exist  among  such  orders  as 
the  Dominicans,  Franciscans,  and  Jesuits.  The  con- 
troversies between  Dominicans  and  Franciscans  have 
been  waged  with  recurrent  waves  of  bitterness. 
Clement  XIV  embodied  the  hostility  to  the  Jesuits, 
which  existed  within  Romanism,  in  the  decree  which 
abolished  the  Society  of  Jesus  on  the  ground  that 
"  so  long  as  the  order  existed  it  was  impossible  that 
the  church  could  attain  a  lasting  peace."    Pius  VII 


2^2  Positive  Protestantism  Note  12 

recognized  the  party  favoring  the  Jesuits  by  rein- 
stating them.  Since  before  the  Reformation  liberal 
and  ultramontane  parties  have  existed  in  the  church 
and  struggled,  the  one  against  the  other.  To-day 
the  ultramontanes  are  in  control.  The  Vatican 
Council  revealed  the  lack  of  unity  in  Romanism  by 
its  mutually  hostile  camps.  In  Romanist  circles 
'*  Americanism "  and  "  Modernism "  are  terms 
which  indicate  liberal  movements,  trends,  or  points 
of  view  among  Romanists  which  the  dominant  party 
deplores  and  zealously  resists.  These  facts  are  suf- 
ficient to  show  that  Romanism  has  not  attained  a 
real  uniformity  even  among  those  who  acknowledge 
her  authority.  Rome  has  caused  divisions  in  Chris- 
tianity because  she  has  known  no  unity  that  is  spirit- 
ual and  ethical,  but  only  that  which  is  tested  by 
formal  assent  to  creed  and  by  obedience  to  ecclesias- 
tical authority.  Rome  has  failed,  therefore,  both  in 
her  conception  of  unity  and  in  the  accomplishment 
of  the  ideal  which  she  has  cherished. 


NOTE   12.      A  JESUIT  S  ESTIMATE  OF  A  PRIEST  AND 
THE  WORD  "  PRIEST  " 

Romanist  custom  and  thought  has  so  exalted  the 
priestly  office  that  the  Jesuit  Weissenbach  can  speak 
in  such  terms  as  the  following :  ''  Pardon  us,  an- 
gelic spirits;  we  know  your  greatness.  But  have 
you  even  the  keys  of  heaven  like  the  priesthood? 
Can  you  produce  the  true  God  at  your  command? 


Note  13  Appendix  2-]-^ 

Pardon  us,  even  thou,  O  Queen  of  Heaven !  Thou 
canst  by  thy  intercession  procure  forgiveness  for 
even  the  greatest  sins,  but  of  thine  own  power  thou 
canst  forgive  none,  as  our  priests  do.  Once,  but 
once  only  hast  thou  borne  the  incarnate  God,  even 
this  only  in  the  state  of  misery  and  poverty.  But 
our  priests  surpass  thee  at  the  very  point  where  thou 
surpassest  all.  They  can  when,  where,  and  so  often 
as  they  will,  call  down  the  divine  Son  from  the 
bosom  of  his  glory,  from  the  right  hand  of  the  al- 
mighty Father,  upon  earth  and  in  a  certain  and  real 
and  genuine  sense  for  our  purpose  bear  him  into  the 
world."  The  statement  seems  crass,  even  sacrile- 
gious, but  is  quite  a  legitimate  deduction  from  the 
authoritatively  stated  teaching  of  the  Roman  Church. 
The  Douai  version  uses  the  word  "  priest "  to 
translate  the  Greek  word  which  means  "  elder." 
The  Greek  word  meaning  "  priest "  is  never  used  in 
the  New  Testament  with  reference  to  those  who 
were  ministerial  officers  in  the  New  Testament 
church.  Its  use  is  confined  to  passages  referring  to 
the  priestly  character  of  Christ's  work  or  in  which 
all  Christians  are  said  to  be  priests  unto  God,  and 
to  references  to  Jewish  and  heathen  priests. 


NOTE    13.      EVIDENCE  OF  A   MARRIED   MINISTRY   IN 
THE   NEW   TESTAMENT  TIME 

Jesus'  use  of  the  term  "  Father  "  to  express  his 
conception  of  God  is  enough  by  itself  to  raise  the 
s 


274  Positive  Protestantism  Note  14 

relations  of  fatherhood  to  the  highest  possible  plane. 
Paul  said,  "  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  and  the  breth- 
ren of  the  Lord,  and  Cephas"  (which  is  another 
name  for  Peter)  led  about  wives,  and  asserted  his 
own  right  to  lead  about  '*  a  wife  that  is  a  .J)eliever  " 
(i  Cor.  9:5).  Paul  also  said,  "The  bishop  (or 
pastor)  therefore  must  be  without  reproach,  the 
husband  of  one  wife  "  (i  Tim.  3:2).  Another  of 
his  statements  is,  "  Let  deacons  be  husbands  of  one 
wife,  ruling  their  children  and  their  own  houses 
well"  (i  Tim.  3  :  12);  and  he  wrote  to  Titus 
(Titus  I  :  5,  6)  to  "  appoint  elders  in  every  city,  as 
I  gave  thee  charge;  if  any  man  is  blameless,  the 
husband  of  one  wife,  having  children  that  believe." 
Such  declarations  of  the  New  Testament  dispose 
completely  of  the  Roman  contention,  and  this  con- 
clusion is  strengthened  when  one  reads  from  the 
Douai  version  the  passage  just  quoted  from  the 
Epistle  to  Titus,  which  runs  thus :  "  I  left  thee  in 
Crete  that  thou  .  .  .  shouldst  ordain  priests  in  every 
city  as  I  appointed  thee:  If  any  man  be  without 
crime,  the  husband  of  one  wife,  having  faithful 
children." 


NOTE    14.      ROME  S   HOSTILITY  TO  THE  LAY  USE   OF 
THE   SCRIPTURES 

Early  popes  indorsed  the  sayings  of  those  Fathers 
which  urged  the  laity  to  read  the  Scriptures  be- 
cause of  their  helpfulness,  for  example,  Clement  L 


Note  14  Appendix  2ys 

But  a  later  pope,  Clement  XIV,  forbade  this  lay 
reading,  and  attempted  with  all  his  power  to  pre- 
vent it.  The  Index  of  Prohibited  Books,  approved 
by  Pius  IV,  says :  "  Since  it  is  manifest  by  experi- 
ence that  if  the  Holy  Bible  in  the  vulgar  tongue  be 
suffered  to  be  read  everywhere  without  distinction, 
more  evil  than  good  arises,  let  the  judgment  of 
the  bishop  or  inquisitor  be  abided  by  in  this  re- 
spect; so  that  .  .  .  they  may  grant  permission  to 
read  translations  of  the  Scriptures  made  by  Catholic 
writers,  to  those  whom  they  understand  to  be  able  to 
receive  no  harm  .  .  .  from  such  reading.  But  who- 
soever shall  presume  to  read  these  Bibles  or  have 
them  in  possession  without  such  faculty,  shall  not 
be  capable  of  receiving  absolution  of  their  sins  un- 
less they  have  first  given  up  their  Bibles  to  the  Or- 
dinary." (Quoted  by  McKim,  p.  117.)  The  theolo- 
gian Moehler  reflects  the  same  idea  when  he  says 
(pp.  22yi.),  "The  sacred  Scriptures  are  not  neces- 
sary for  our  acquisition  of  their  general  contents  in 
view  of  the  church's  instructions."  This  assumption 
of  Rome's,  thus  put  by  Aloehler,  ignores  the  fact 
that  every  movement  to  place  the  Bible  in  the  hands 
of  the  people  has  started  because  the  people  had  not 
been  instructed  in  the  Bible's  teachings.  In  dealing 
with  the  Waldensians,  the  Hussites,  the  Wyclifites, 
and  the  Reformers,  the  Roman  Curia  opposed  the 
reading  of  the  Scriptures  by  the  common  people  and 
destroyed  large  numbers  of  copies.  The  opposition 
was  not  because  of  the  incorrectness  of  these  trans- 


2^6  Positive  Protestantism  Note  13 

lations,  for  those  of  Wycllf  and  Luther  have  since 
proved  their  quality  by  the  judgment  of  the  most 
learned  scholars  and  by  their  long  use.  Besides,  if 
incorrectness  had  been  the  basis  of  Rome's  opposi- 
tion, she  v^ould  have  made  better  translations,  but 
she  was  unwilling  that  the  people  should  have  any. 
The  opposition  has  persisted  in  spite  of  increasing 
learning  and  scholarship.  Von  Hase's  "  Handbook  " 
gives  many  modern  instances  of  Rome's  hostility  to 
lay  use  of  the  Scriptures.  Bible  societies  have  been 
regarded  by  Rome  as  enemies  of  the  faith. 


NOTE   15.      THE  CLAIM  OF  PERSISTENCE  OF 
RECOGNITION   OF   INFALLIBILITY 

Leo  XIII  says  in  his  encyclical  letter  of  June  29, 
1906,  "  that  in  the  decree  of  the  Vatican  Council  as 
to  the  nature  and  authority  of  the  Roman  pontiff  no 
newly  conceived  idea  is  set  forth,  but  the  venerable 
and  constant  belief  of  all  ages."  Such  a  claim  is  im- 
possible in  the  light  of  history.  The  famous  quarrel 
of  Cyprian,  Bishop  of  Carthage,  with  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  reveals  the  actual  situation  in  the  early  church. 
Cyprian  declared  the  pope  to  be  "  in  error  in  en- 
deavoring by  his  contention  in  the  quarrel  to  main- 
tain the  cause  of  heretics  against  Christians  and 
against  the  church."  (Cyprian's  "  Epistles,"  73  :  i.) 
This  is  certainly  not  an  expression  of  submission 
on  the  part  of  the  African  bishop,  but  rather  proof 
that  the   pope's   authority   was   not   recognized   as 


Note  I J  Appendix  2^/ 

universal.  Again,  Pope  Gregory  the  Great  (590- 
604)  vigorously  rebuked  John,  Patriarch  of  Con- 
stantinople, for  assuming  on  his  part  the  title  of 
''  universal  bishop,"  and  for  claiming  authority  out- 
side the  jurisdiction  of  his  diocese.  ("  Epistles"  of 
Gregory,  Bk.  5,  Epistle  18.)  Nor  was  Gregory  by 
this  rebuke  claiming  the  title  or  authority  of  uni- 
versal bishop  for  himself,  for  he  said  on  another 
occasion,  "  I  confidently  say  that  whosoever  calls 
himself  '  universal  bishop '  or  desires  so  to  be 
called,  does  in  his  elation  forerun  Antichrist  because 
he  proudly  places  himself  above  others."  (See  R.  J. 
Miller,  "  The  Fundamentals  of  Protestantism,"  p. 

158.) 

The  history  of  the  interpretation  of  the  "  rock  " 
passage  is  further  striking  evidence.  Archbishop 
Kendrick  set  forth  the  situation  exactly  when  he 
pointed  out*  that  Romanists  cannot  establish  the 
Petrine  privilege  from  Scripture  because  the  Church 
Fathers  do  not  agree  unanimously  concerning  the 
interpretation  of  this  passage  as  the  Romanist 
standard  requires,  but  rather  put  forth  five  different 
interpretations,  and  in  the  greatest  numbers  favor 
referring  the  word  "  rock  "  to  Peter's  faith,  not  to 
Peter  himself.  Pope  Gregory  the  Great  accepted 
this  interpretation.  (See  McKim,  p.  51.) 

Many  facts  connected  with  the  history  of  general 


*  This  he  did  in  a  speech  which  was  prepared  for  the  Vatican 
Council  of  which  he  was  a  member,  but  never  actually  delivered. 
The  speech  was  later  published  at  Naples. 


2/8  Positive  Protestantism  Note  15 

councils  further  illustrate  the  real  situation  in  the 
early  church.  These  councils,  accomplishing  as  they 
did  the  doctrinal  legislation  of  the  church,  and 
recognized  for  centuries  as  the  seat  of  supreme 
ecclesiastical  authority,  were  neither  called  together 
nor  presided  over  by  the  pope.  Excepting  the 
fourth  and  sixth,  they  were  almost  unaffected  by 
papal  influence.  One  council,  that  of  Chalcedon 
(A.  D.  451),  was  called  in  the  face  of  the  pope's 
protest.  (See  McKim.)  The  decrees  of  the  Council 
of  Nicsea  (A.  D.  325)  were  promulgated  without 
waiting  for  their  acceptance  by  the  pope,  which, 
for  the  sake  of  formality,  was  usually  asked  of  him 
as  of  all  absent  bishops.  The  Council  of  Constanti- 
nople (A.  D.  381)  asked  the  emperor,  not  the  pope, 
for  confirmation  of  its  decrees.  The  action  of  the 
Council  of  Constance  in  deposing  three  popes  and 
declaring  the  supremacy  of  the  general  council  will 
certainly  be  regarded  by  any  impartial  student  of 
the  situation  as  decidedly  conclusive. 

The  situation  is  further  revealed  by  the  relations 
of  Rome  to  the  Eastern  and  Celtic  Churches. 
When  the  Roman  bishops  began  to  urge  their  claims 
to  supremacy  over  all  Christendom,  a  fierce  opposi- 
tion arose  in  the  Eastern  Church,  which  after  several 
centuries  of  quarreling  finally  broke  off  completely 
fraternal  relations  with  Rome,  and  the  break  con- 
tinues until  to-day.  The  Celtic  Church  for  a  long 
time  knew  nothing  of  the  supremacy  of  Rome. 
Christianity  was  established  in  the  British  Isles  long 


Note  1 6  Appendix  279 

before  Rome  sent  her  emissaries  thither,  and  cer- 
tainly long  before  Roman  bishops  were  recognized 
as  in  any  measure  universal  bishops.  British 
bishops  attended  councils  at  Aries  (A.  D.  314)  and 
Sardica  (A.  D.  347),  while  it  was  not  until  A.  D. 
596  that  a  pope  sent  a  monk  to  Britain  to  demand 
conformity  to  the  rites  (notice,  not  to  the  authority) 
of  Rome.  The  British  resisted  even  this  demand, 
and  maintained  their  independence  for  a  considera- 
ble period.  In  Ireland,  Saint  Patrick  (373?-463?) 
brought  Christianity  to  firm  establishment,  but  the 
supremacy  of  Rome,  which  he  did  not  accept,  was 
not  fully  recognized  until  A.  D.  1172.^  These  facts 
add  strength  to  the  conclusion  that  the  pope  has 
never  been  universally  recognized  as  universal 
bishop,  and  that  even  in  those  regions  of  the  world 
which  have  later  come  to  acknowledge  papal  au- 
thority the  validity  of  such  authority  has  not  always 
been  admitted. 

NOTE  16.     ADDITIONAL  SCRIPTURE  PASSAGES  ALLEGED 
AS  SUPPORT  FOR  PAPAL  CLAIMS 

Two  Other  passages  are  regularly  used  by  Ro- 
manists to  substantiate  their  claims.  Both  citations 
are  unfortunate  for  their  contentions.  One  of  these 
(Luke  22  :  32)  is  supposed  to  show  Peter's  exalta- 
tion to  the  teaching  office  over  all  the  church.  But 
in  the  light  of  the  context  the  passage  can  justly 

•See  R.  J.  Miller,  p.  159. 


28o  Positive  Protestantism  Note  i6 

be  construed  only  as  an  assurance  of  Peter's  future 
usefulness  in  spite  of  his  great  weakness,  and  not 
as  an  appointment  to  supreme  authority.  Jesus'  in- 
tention seems  to  have  been  to  arouse  a  deeper  sense 
of  loyalty  and  a  deeper  faithfulness  on  Peter's  part, 
which  would  lead  to  the  fruition  of  his  natural  ap- 
titude for  leadership.  Appeal  to  this  passage  by 
Rome  is  a  strange  procedure,  and  it  is  no  wonder 
that  during  the  first  seven  centuries  of  the  church 
no  single  writer  leaves  any  evidence  that  this  pas- 
sage was  interpreted  as  conferring  special  rank  or 
authority  on  Peter.  (See  McKim,  p.  85.) 

The  second  passage  contains  the  words  addressed 
by  Jesus  to  Peter,  "  Feed  my  lambs  "  (John  21  : 
15-17).  Since  these  words  are  not  addressed  to 
any  other  disciple,  it  is  claimed  they  conferred  on 
Peter  the  authority  of  the  universal  teaching  office. 
But  an  examination  of  the  passage  shows  that  these 
words  are  chiefly  significant  as  a  recognition  of 
Peter  and  a  restoration  of  that  disciple  to  favor  after 
his  denial  of  the  Master.  This  charge  was  given,  ac- 
cording to  the  Gospel  of  John,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
first  meeting  of  Jesus  and  Peter  subsequent  to  the 
denial.  By  the  charge  Jesus  simply  gives  Peter,  as 
a  reassuring  renewal  of  relationship,  a  commission 
to  work  as  his  disciple.  This  passage,  therefore,  as 
well  as  those  in  Matthew  and  Luke,  fails  to  supply 
the  Romanist  contention  with  any  support.  Rome's 
claim  for  universal  authority  of  the  pope  is  there- 
fore quite  entirely  without  scriptural  foundation. 


Note  ly  Appendix  281 


NOTE  17.      METHOD  OF  ROMANISTS  IN  USING 
HISTORICAL  EVIDENCE 

The  Romanist  argument  that  the  assumed  au- 
thority of  the  papacy  has  always  been  recognized 
lacks  any  real  basis  of  historical  fact.  It  is  impos- 
sible here  to  enter  into  all  the  details  of  this  his- 
torical argument,  and  it  is  unnecessary,  since  the 
contentions  of  Romanists  have  so  often  been  re- 
futed, and  since  a  single  example  of  their  argument 
will  show  their  method  of  reading  into  quotations 
the  very  conception  which  they  wish  to  find.  Ter- 
tullian,  who  wrote  toward  the  end  of  the  second 
century,  is  for  example  quoted  thus :  ''  Come  now, 
you  who  would  indulge  a  better  curiosity,  if  you 
would  apply  it  to  the  business  of  your  salvation, 
run  over  the  apostolic  churches  in  which  the  very 
thrones  of  the  apostles  are  still  preeminent  in  their 
places,  in  which  their  own  authentic  writings  are 
read,  uttering  the  voice  and  representing  the  face 
of  each  of  them  severally.  Is  Greece  nearest  you  ? 
You  have  Corinth.  If  you  are  not  far  from  Mace- 
donia, you  have  Philippi,  you  have  the  Thessalo- 
nians.  If  you  are  able  to  go  to  Asia,  you  have 
Ephesus.  But  if  you  are  near  Italy,  you  have 
Rome,  whence  also  our  [that  is,  the  members  of 
African  churches]  status  is  drawn.  How  happy  is 
its  church,  etc.  .  .  See  what  she  has  learned,  what 
taught,  what  fellowship  has  had  with  even  (our) 
churches  in  Africa."    Heinrich's  argument  deduced 


282  Positive  Protestantism  Note  17 

from  this  passage  is  this :  ''  The  proposition  of  Ter- 
tuUian's,  that  agreement  with  the  apostoHc  original 
and  mother  church  is  the  criterion  of  true  faith, 
speaks  with  double  weight  for  the  necessity  of 
agreement  with  the  Roman  Church,  which  is  not 
only  the  mother  for  the  most  of  the  churches  of 
the  West,  and  especially  Africa,  because  they  sprung 
from  her,  hut  ivh'ich  possesses  also  the  primacy  over 
all  of  the  churches  of  the  zuorld."  Yet  the  last  itali- 
cized part  of  the  argument,  which  is  the  very 
thing  to  be  proved,  is  precisely  the  thing  which  Ter- 
tullian  does  not  say,  but  which  is  read  into  the  con- 
clusion by  the  presupposition  of  the  Romanist  argu- 
ment. Tertullian  really  puts  Rome  alongside  other 
apostolic  churches,  which  he  names  as  having  spe- 
cial influences  arising  from  the  personal  presence  of 
apostles  once  residing  with  them,  and  also,  and 
this  is  of  primary  importance,  from  possessing  the 
actual  letters  which  the  apostles  wrote  to  these  sev- 
eral churches  named — especially  those  churches 
which  had  received  Pauline  letters — and  which  came 
to  be  parts  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures.  Such 
twisting  of  the  meaning  of  quotations  as  this  from 
Tertullian  is  characteristic  of  Romanist  treatment 
of  historical  data.  Just  as  characteristic  is  the  re- 
liance upon  quotations  into  which  interpolations 
have  crept  in  the  later  texts,  but  which  are,  nev- 
ertheless, used  as  if  they  were  authentic  texts  of 
the  fathers.  For  example,  interpolated  quotations 
from  Cyprian  are  so  used  in  Romanist  arguments. 


Note  i8  Appendix  283 

Again,  it  is  a  notorious  fact  that  the  papal  power 
was  built  in  part  by  the  use  of  the  forged  decretals 
whose  lack  of  authenticity  is  admitted  even  by 
Romanists,  who,  nevertheless,  maintain  as  histori- 
cally validated  the  authority  which  was  established 
by  these  forgeries.  From  such  considerations,  and 
from  the  openly  avowed  use  of  the  teaching  office 
to  correct  historical  data,  we  may  be  sure,  without 
any  further  examination  of  the  alleged  historical 
evidence,  that  Rome's  contention  as  to  the  universal 
authority  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  and  its  universal 
acceptance  in  all  times  has  no  real  historical  foun- 
dation on  which  to  find  support. 


NOTE   18.      EVIDENCE  AS  TO  FALLIBILITY  OF  POPES 

Popes  have  contradicted  each  other.  For  exam- 
ple, Gregory  the  Great  taught  that  the  word  "  rock  " 
in  the  famous  passage  already  discussed  referred  to 
Peter's  confession,  for  he  said :  "  Make  firm  your 
life  on  the  rock  of  the  church ;  that  is,  on  the  confes- 
sion of  Peter  the  chief  of  the  apostles."  Leo  XIII, 
in  his  encyclical  letter  on  Unity  of  the  Church  (see 
McKim,  p.  51),  follows  the  usual  position  of  Rome 
to-day,  and  makes  the  word  refer  to  Peter  himself. 
This  is  a  disagreement  of  ex-cathedra  statements, 
for  we  can  scarcely  suppose  that  Gregory  would 
have  made  a  false  interpretation  of  so  important  a 
position  under  any  circumstances  if  he  were  infalli- 
ble, and  Leo's  interpretation  is  given  in  a  general 


284  Positive  Protestantism  Note  18 

letter,  which  according  to  Cardinal  Gibbons  "  is  the 
most  weighty  authority  in  the  church  "  ("  Faith  of 
Our  Fathers,"  p.  115).  Therefore,  either  Gregory 
or  Leo  was  fallible. 

Some  popes  have  been  heretics  either  by  official 
declaration  or  according  to  charges  brought  against 
their  teachings.  Pope  Liberius,  when  the  Emperor 
Constantine  brought  the  Arian  church  into  power, 
wearied  of  proscription  and  signed  a  heterodox  con- 
fession of  faith,  thus  abandoning  Athanasius,  who 
had  advocated  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  over 
against  Arius.  Pope  Vigilius  in  A.  D.  547  con- 
sented to  the  condemnation  of  two  Eastern  teachers, 
and  later  (A.  D.  553)  reversed  himself  in  order  to 
honor  the  decree  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  (A.  D. 
451),  which  a  century  before  had  taken  the  ortho- 
dox view  of  the  matter  in  question.  Thus  for  a  time 
Vigilius  was  on  the  heretical  side  of  the  controversy. 
A  still  clearer  case  of  a  papal  heretic  is  Honorius  I. 
The  third  Council  of  Constantinople,  in  A.  D.  681, 
pronounced  Honorius  a  heretic  and  anathematized 
him  for  teaching  heresy.  Pope  Leo  II  confirmed 
this  anathema,  and  the  imprecations  on  the  dead 
Pope  Honorius  were  repeated  by  general  councils  in 
A.  D.  787  and  869.  Honorius  was  speaking  ex 
cathedra,  for  he  was  definitely  trying  to  decide  a  dis- 
puted question  and  thus  to  settle  a  controversy 
which  had  been  referred  to  him.  Thus  he  set  forth 
ex  cathedra  a  heretical  doctrine.  Again,  John  XXII 
was  charged  with  heresy  by  the  chiefs  of  the  Francis- 


Note  i8  Appendix  285 

can  Order.  The  University  of  Paris  was  thoroughly 
aroused,  and  he  was  threatened  by  the  King  of 
France  with  burning  for  heresy.  His  reputation  in 
the  minds  of  posterity  was  saved  from  an  unmiti- 
gated imputation  of  heresy  only  by  the  publication 
at  the  hands  of  his  successor  of  a  death-bed  recan- 
tation. Which  was  infallible,  John  XXIFs  state- 
ment in  his  original  teachings,  or  that  of  his  recan- 
tation? Whichever  the  answer,  he  was  fallible  in 
the  one  case  or  the  other.  The  facts  of  history  prove 
conclusively  that  popes  have  not  been  infallible  even 
in  the  restricted  area  of  ex-cathedra  teachings  con- 
cerning faith  and  morals. 

Moreover,  popes  themselves  have  declared  popes 
to  be  fallible  as  to  matters  of  faith.^  Innocent  III, 
the  most  powerful  of  all  popes,  admitted  that  he 
could  sin  against  the  faith,  and  Pius  IV  allowed 
disregard  of  the  command  of  a  pope  if  the  command 
involved  heresy.  Adrian  VI  gave  it  as  his  judg- 
ment that,  "  If  under  the  Roman  Church  is  under- 
stood its  head,  the  pope,  it  is  certain  that  he  can  err, 
even  in  that  which  relates  to  the  faith."  Urban 
VIII  (when  confronted  with  the  decisions  of  pre- 
vious popes),  declared,  "  The  decision  of  one  living 
pope  is  worth  more  than  that  of  a  hundred  dead 
ones."  Such  statements  by  these  popes,  especially 
when  added  to  the  various  other  considerations  de- 
lineated above,  raise  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  the 

*  For   a   fuller   statement   at   this   point,    see   Von   Hase's   "  Hand- 
book." 


286  Positive  Protestantism  Note  19 

acceptance  of  the  doctrine  of  the  infalHbllity  of  the 
pope."^ 

NOTE    19.      DIFFERENCES  IN  CANON  RECOGNIZED  BY 
PROTESTANTS  AND  ROMANISTS 

Romanism  includes  as  Scripture  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  Apocrypha  which  Protestantism  re- 
jects. These  books  were  not  included  in  the  He- 
brew canon  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  appear  in  the 
Greek  versions  of  the  Old  Testament.  Other  ver- 
sions, including  the  Latin  Vulgate,  which  were  in- 
fluenced by  the  Greek  versions,  thus  came  to  in- 
clude these  books,  though  with  no  acceptance  of 
them  as  of  equal  worth  with  the  canonical  books  of 
the  Old  Testament.  Saint  Jerome  (about  A.  D.  340- 
420),  who  made  the  Vulgate  version,  expresses  the 
attitude  of  Christian  scholars  of  all  ages  when  he 
speaks  of  these  books  as  worthy  "  for  the  edification 
of  the  people,  not  for  confirming  the  authority  of 
church  dogmas"  (quoted  in  article  "Apocrypha," 
Hastings  Dictionary  of  the  Bible).  But  the  Council 
of  Trent  (A.  D.  1546),  in  spite  of  this  attitude,  made 
these  books  of  equal  authority  with  Scripture.  This 
would  probably  never  have  been  done  except  to  op- 
pose Luther  and  to  use  one  passage  (2  Mace.  12  : 
43f.)  to  support  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  which  is 
unsupported  by  Scripture,  and  another  (Tobit  12  : 

'  A  striking,  succinct,  yet  comprehensive  argument  against  papal 
claims  may  be  found  in  the  alleged  speech  of  Bishop  Strossmayer, 
which  is  quoted  by  McKim,  pp.   150-160. 


Note  20  Appendix  287 

8f.)  to  corroborate  the  doctrine  of  justification  by 
2:ood  works.  In  view  of  this  situation  the  use  of  the 
apocryphal  books  as  Scripture  must  be  regarded  as 
without  significance. 

NOTE  20.     Rome's  attitude  tow^ard  biblical  and 

OTHER  SCHOLARSHIP 

The  Protestant  emphasis  upon  the  value  of  the 
Scripture  has  led  to  the  great  accomplishments  of 
modern  biblical  scholarship,  for  it  has  stimulated  in- 
terest in  the  Bible.  The  Romanist  attitude  inevitably 
hinders  such  scholarship.  By  its  claim  to  sole  pos- 
session of  the  teaching  office  Romanism  denies  to 
Protestant  scholars  the  ability  to  determine  by 
scientific  methods  what  the  Bible  means,  and  also 
any  help  from  God's  Holy  Spirit,  however  godly 
these  men  may  be,  however  intimately  they  may 
commune  with  God,  and  however  much  sympathy 
with  Christian  teaching  they  may  feel.  Thus  in 
effect,  if  not  in  words,^  it  denies  the  existence  of 
those  very  abilities  of  Protestant  scholars  which 
have  produced  the  modern  sciences  in  biblical,  his- 
torical, and  theological  spheres.  To  illustrate,  in 
its  search  for  the  most  reliable  biblical  text,  Protes- 

8  Such  Romanist  writers  as  Cardinal  Gibbons  and  Moehler  make 
more  or  less  frequent  reference  to  the  ignorance  of  the  Reformers 
and  of  Protestant  theologians  and  historians.  If  those  referred  to, 
as  for  example  Melancthon  and  Calvin,  are  not  to  be  counted^  among 
the  world's  learned,  then  there  have  never  been  any  of  this  class 
in  the  world.  In  this  connection  it  is  useful  to  recall  the  shame  to 
which  Romanist  disputants  were  uniformly  put  in  the  time  of  the 
Reformation. 


288  Positive  Protestantism  Note  20 

tantism  has  employed  the  three  most  ancient  and 
valuable  manuscripts  of  the  Bible,  whose  evidence 
for  the  text  has  been  discovered  since  the  Council 
of  Trent,  as  well  as  much  other  new  material,  and 
has  created  the  science  of  textual  criticism  by  which 
the  value  of  texts  can  be  ascertained.  In  contrast, 
Romanism,  in  accepting  the  decrees  of  the  Council 
of  Trent,  has  closed  the  door  to  any  further  investi- 
gation or  conclusion,  for  that  council  decreed  that 
the  Latin  Vulgate  translation  was  of  equal  authority 
with  Greek  and  Hebrew  texts  (the  original  lan- 
guages of  the  Bible).  On  points  now  mooted  be- 
tween Protestants  and  Romanists,  the  latter  use  the 
Vulgate  text  as  if  it  were  superior  to  the  texts  in 
the  original  languages.  This  Latin  version  was 
made  by  Saint  Jerome  in  the  fourth  century  A.  D., 
and  was  itself  execrated  by  various  Fathers  far  and 
wide  as  unworthy  of  acceptance.  It  came  into  pre- 
vailing use  only  gradually  and  after  a  long  period. 
The  exaltation  of  this  version  is  absurd,  but  the 
consequent  closing  of  the  door  to  any  further  study 
and  improvement  of  the  biblical  text  by  increased  in- 
formation is  stultifying  to  the  human  intellect.  In 
matters  other  than  the  text  of  Scripture,  Rome's 
position  as  to  authority  closes  the  door  to  scientific 
investigation,  for  the  infallible  teaching  office  must 
necessarily  rule  out  of  court,  to  begin  with,  those 
scientific  conclusions  of  both  Protestant  and  Roman- 
ist scholars,  of  whom  there  have  been  not  a  few 
whose  convictions  have  incurred  the  condemnation 


Note  21  Appendix 289 

of  the  Roman  Curia.  Such  a  result  of  Romanist 
authority  inevitably  leads  to  the  condemnation  of 
Romanism,  whereas  the  position  of  Protestantism, 
with  its  freedom  and  desire  for  increase  of  knowl- 
edge, just  as  inevitably  wins  commendation. 

NOTE  21.      EVIDENCE  OF  OFFICIAL  TEACHING  OF 
ROME  AS  TO  SOLE  CHANNEL  OF  GRACE 

The  noted  bull  of  Boniface  VIII,  Vnam  Sanctmn 
(A.  D.  1302),  has  this  to  say:  The  Holy  Roman 
Church  "  firmly  believes,  professes,  and  preaches 
that  none  who  are  not  found  within  the  Catholic 
Church,  not  only  pagans,  but  not  even  Jews  or 
heretics  and  schismatics,  can  become  partakers  of 
eternal  life,  but  shall  go  into  eternal  fire  which  is 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  except  they 
shall  have  been  gathered  to  the  same  before  the 
end  of  life ;  and  that  the  unity  of  the  ecclesiastical 
body  is  of  so  much  importance  that  only  to  those 
who  remain  in  it  are  the  ecclesiastical  sacraments  and 
fasts  profitable,  the  alms  and  other  offices  of  piety 
and  exercises  of  Christian  service  productive  of 
eternal  rewards,  and  that  no  one,  however  great 
alms  he  shall  have  done,  even  if  he  shall  shed  his 
blood  for  the  name  of  Christ,  can  be  saved,  except 
he  shall  have  remained  in  the  bosom  and  unity  of 
the  Catholic  Church."  (Quoted  by  Foster,  pp.  y6i.) 
This  was  a  cathedratic  statement  and  so  infallibly 
authoritative.      Even    more    pronouncedly    cathe- 

T 


290  Positive  Protestantism  Note  21 

dratic  is  the  following  from  the  same  bull :  *'  More- 
over we  declare,  say,  define,  and  pronounce  that  it 
is  altogether  necessary  to  the  salvation  of  every  hu- 
man creature  to  be  subject  to  the  Roman  pontiff." 
While  originally  this  last  declaration  referred  es- 
pecially to  the  pope's  claim  to  power  over  the  state, 
its  further  application  to  all  kinds  of  relations  with 
the  pope  is  inevitable.  Pope  Honorius  III  published 
(1216)  a  bull  approving  the  extermination  of  here- 
tics ;  Innocent  IV  put  forth  a  bull  to  the  same  effect  ; 
Alexander  IV  issued  (1524)  a  bull  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  officers  to  prosecute  the  Inquisition;  and 
all  of  these  acts  were  based  essentially  on  the  con- 
ception that  Rome  was  the  sole  channel  of  salvation. 
Again,  the  bull  Pastor  Aeternus  ( 15 16)  says  :  "  Obe- 
dience [that  is,  to  the  Roman  See]  is  the  sole  mother 
and  guard  of  all  the  virtues,  alone  possessing  the 
merit  of  faith,  without  which  any  one  is  convicted 
of  being  an  infidel,  even  though  he  may  seem  to  be 
a  believer.'*  (Quoted  by  Foster,  p.  78.)  The  Council 
of  Trent  does  not  pronounce  upon  this  point,  but 
its  decree  uses  the  expression,  "  our  Catholic  faith 
without  which  it  is  impossible  to  please  God." 

A  Catholic  dictionary  quoted  by  Foster  (p.  78) 
says,  "  In  pronouncing  anathema  against  wilful 
heretics,  the  Church  does  but  declare  that  they  are 
excluded  from  her  communion,  and  that  they  must, 
if  they  continue  obstinate,  perish  eternally."  Ac- 
cordingly, archbishops  and  bishops  make  the  Tri- 
dentine  profession  of  faith  as  follows :  "  I  profess 


Note  21  Appendix  291 

this  true  Catholic  faith  [that  is,  the  system  of 
doctrine  determined  by  the  Council  of  Trent  and 
now  confirmed  by  the  Vatican  Council]  without 
which  no  one  can  be  saved."  In  the  spirit  of  these 
teachings  the  bull  In  Coena  Domini  (1610,  1627) 
excommunicated  and  anathematized  "  on  the  part 
of  God  Almighty,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit, 
by  the  authority  of  the  blessed  apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  and  by  our  own  [that  is,  the  authority  of 
the  pope  issuing  the  bull]  all  Hussites,  Wyclifites, 
Lutherans,  Zwinglians,  Calvinists,  Huguenots,  Ana- 
baptists, Trinitarians,  and  apostates  from  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  all  and  every  other  heretic,  by  what- 
soever name  they  are  called;  .  .  also  schismatics 
and  those  who  pertinaciously  withdraw  from  obe- 
dience of  Us  and  the  Roman  pontiff  at  the  time  ex- 
isting." Pius  IX  (December  17,  1847),  in  his  Allo- 
cution, says :  "  Let  therefore  those  who  wish  to  be 
saved  come  to  this  pillar  and  ground  of  truth,  which 
is  the  Church.  .  .  We  .  .  .  shall  spare  no  cares 
and  labors  to  lead  by  the  grace  of  Christ  those  who 
are  ignorant  and  err  to  this  sole  way  of  truth." 
The  Vatican  Council  which  declared  the  pope  infal- 
lible hung  its  anathema  over  all  who  ''  presume  to 
contradict  this  our  definition."  Even  Moehler,  who 
is  usually  liberal-minded,  says,  "  Connection  with 
Christ  is  also  always  at  the  same  time  connection 
with  the  church."  Leo  XIII,  though  reputed  to  be 
a  liberal,  in  an  encyclical  letter  of  1896,  made 
clear  who  are  outside  of  Romanism  when  he  said. 


2^2  Positive  Protestantism  Note  23 

"  The  fathers  of  the  church  are  unanimous  in  con- 
sidering as  outside  the  CathoHc  communion  any  one 
who  in  the  least  degree  deviates  from  one  point  of 
the  doctrine  proposed  by  the  authoritative  magis- 
terium  of  the  church."  Consequently,  in  view  of 
these  many  statements  it  is  impossible  to  escape  the 
conclusion  that  Rome  really  teaches  that  she  is  the 
sole  channel  of  God's  grace. 

The  broader  view  of  some  Romanists  may  seek 
support  in  the  statement  made  by  Pope  Pius  IX 
that  "  those  who  labor  under  ignorance  of  the  true 
religion,  if  that  is  invincible,  are  not  laden  with  sin 
on  this  account  before  the  eyes  of  God  "  (Allocution 
of  December  9,  1854.)  But  Pius  IX  does  not  say 
how  the  *'  ignorant "  are  to  escape  that  sin,  which  is 
such  without  reference  to  obedience  or  disobedience 
to  the  one  true  church,  nor  does  he  make  clear  how 
to  distinguish  *'  invincible  ignorance "  from  any 
other  kind.  (See  Foster,  pp.  83-85.)  Moreover, 
Pius  IX's  declaration,  even  if  cathedratic,  is  only 
one  against  many  contrary  authoritative  declara- 
tions. This  conception  is  absolutely  incompatible 
with  loyalty  to  the  whole  teaching  of  Romanism. 

NOTE  22.      EXAMPLES  OF  PRAYERS  TO  SAINTS 

A  few  examples  which  have  been  specially  indul- 
genced  by  the  pope  are :  "  Sweet  heart  of  Mary,  be 
my  salvation  " ;  "  Michael,  glorious  prince,  chief  and 
companion  of  the  heavenly  host,  .  .  vouchsafe  to 


Note  2^  Appendix  293 

free  us  all  from  every  evil  " ;  "  Benign  Joseph,  our 
Guide,  protect  us  and  the  holy  Church  " ;  "  Guardian 
of  virgins,  and  holy  father  Joseph,  to  whose  faith- 
ful keeping  Christ  Jesus,  innocence  itself,  and  Mary, 
Virgin  of  virgins,  were  committed,  I  pray  and  be-, 
seech  thee  by  those  two  dear  pledges,  Jesus  and 
Mary,  that  being  preserved  from  all  uncleanness,  I 
may  with  spotless  mind,  pure  heart,  and  chaste 
body,  ever  most  chastely  serve  Jesus  and  Mary. 
Amen."  (Quoted  by  Foster,  pp.  207f.) 


NOTE  23.      TITLES  APPLIED  AND  A  PRAYER  ADDRESSED 
TO  MARY 

Extravagant  titles  are  applied  to  Mary  in  the 
"  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin."  They  are  such  as 
these:  "Holy  Mary,"  "Holy  Mother  of  God," 
"  Virgin  of  Virgins,"  "  Mother  of  Divine  Grace," 
"  Mirror  of  Justice,"  "  Seat  of  Wisdom,"  "  Cause 
of  our  Joy,"  "  Spiritual  Vessel,"  "  Vessel  of  honor," 
"  Vessel  of  singular  devotion,"  "  Mystical  Rose," 
"  Tower  of  David,"  "  Tower  of  Ivory,"  "  House  of 
Gold,"  "  Ark  of  the  Covenant,"  "  Gate  of  Heaven," 
"  IMorning  Star,"  "  Health  of  the  Weak,"  "  Refuge 
of  the  sinners,"  "  Comfortress  of  the  afflicted," 
"  Help  of  Christians,"  "  Queen  of  virgins,"  "  Queen 
of  confessors,"  "  Queen  of  saints."  Could  any  more 
extravagant  title  be  used  of  God? 

The  following  prayer  (quoted  by  R.  J.  Miller), 
which  was  given  a  few  years  ago  to  visitors  at  the 


294  Positive  Protestantism  Note  24 

Antwerp  Cathedral,  is  a  sufficient  illustration  of  the 
kind  of  prayers  which  are  addressed  to  Mary : 

"  O  Mary,  remember  the  solemn  moment  when 
Jesus,  your  divine  Son,  dying  on  the  cross,  com- 
mitted us  to  your  care.  You  are  our  Mother,  and 
we  desire  always  to  belong  to  you.  Faithful  to  the 
commendation  of  Jesus  who  died  for  us,  we  place 
in  your  hands  our  persons,  our  families,  our  chil- 
dren, and  all  our  interests,  spiritual  and  temporal. 
Make  us  sensible  of  your  powerful  intercession  with 
Jesus  Christ.  Glorify  your  name  in  this  city  of  Ant- 
werp, which  was  consecrated  to  you,  and  above  all 
in  this  cathedral,  which  was  dedicated  to  you  by  the 
piety  of  our  ancestors.  Preserve  for  us  inviolate 
the  purity  of  our  faith.  Keep  the  hearts  of  our 
children  from  the  spirit  of  evil ;  give  success  to  their 
education ;  make  them  true  Christians.  Give  health 
to  our  sick ;  comfort  our  poor  afflicted  ones ;  convert 
our  unhappy  evil-doers;  forget  not  our  dear  de- 
parted ones.  Make  us  to  belong  to  you  and  your 
divine  Son  in  life,  in  death,  and  for  all  eternity. 
Amen."  With  Mary  answering  all  such  petitions 
as  these,  what  is  left  for  God  to  do?  Mariolatry 
thus  displaces  God  and  becomes  idolatry. 


NOTE  24.      ROMANISM    AND  CARDINAL  GIBBONS   ON 
RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY 

As  recently  as  August  25,  1910,  Pius  X,  in  his  en- 
cyclical letter,  declared  that  there  can  be  no  worthy 


Note  24.  Appendix  295 

civilization  which  is  not  wholly  controlled  by  the 
church.  He  also  (see  McKim,  p.  270)  warmly  and 
officially  commended  a  book  which  holds  that 
"  public  heretics  deserve  not  merely  to  be  excommu- 
nicated but  to  be  killed,"  and  that  the  church  toler- 
ates heretics  now  because  it  is  not  prudent  to  kill 
them.  Pius  X  in  recent  years  likewise  condemned 
all  liberalism,  and  required  of  all  priests  and  teach- 
ers the  famous  oath  against  "  Modernism,"  which 
was  taken  under  compulsion  by  European  priests 
with  rebellious  mental  reservations.  (See  Loeppert, 
"  Modernism  and  The  Vatican.") 

Accordingly,  Cardinal  Gibbons  shows  the  gift  of 
a  skilful,  if  not  an  entirely  candid  mind,  in  his  defi- 
nition of  religious  liberty,  in  which  he  claims  to 
believe.  His  statement,  in  the  face  of  the  papal 
declarations  just  quoted,  is  a  daring  one,  since  Gib- 
bons himself  declares  that  a  general  letter  of  a 
pope  is  the  weightiest  authority  in  the  church,  and 
especially  if  he  expects  to  convince  people  that  Ro- 
manism truly  sympathizes  with,  and  even  teaches, 
religious  liberty.  He  says  :  "  A  man  enjoys  religious 
hberty  when  he  possesses  the  free  right  of  worship- 
ing God  according  to  a  right  conscience,  and  of 
practising  a  form  of  religion  most  in  accordance 
with  his  duties  to  God."  That  sounds  fair  until  one 
inquires  who  is  to  determine  what  a  "  right  "  con- 
science is,  and  what  is  "  a  form  of  religion  most  in 
accordance  with  duties  to  God."  Only  Rome,  ac- 
cording to  her  own  claim,  can  answer  such  ques- 


296  Positive  Protestantism  Note  24. 

tions  through  her  infallible  teaching  office.  Thus 
one  sees  where  are  left  all  who  cannot  accept  Rome's 
authority  and  her  definitions  of  right  conscience  and 
right  religion.  Gibbons'  statement  shows  only  how 
impossible  it  is  even  for  a  man  reared  in  a  liberty- 
loving  nation  like  ours  to  break  from  the  Roman 
system,  which  inevitably  by  its  very  genius  of  ab- 
solutism is  opposed  to  any  freedom  which  crosses 
the  will  of  the  hierarchy.  Rome's  history  is  a  con- 
tinuous illustration  of  this  inherent  and  inevitable 
opposition  to  true  religious  liberty. 

The  desire  of  Romanists  to  claim,  as  does  Cardi- 
nal Gibbons,  that  religious  liberty  began  in  Mary- 
land, speaks  well  for  their  Americanism,  but  very 
poorly  for  their  adherence  to  the  official  teaching  of 
their  church  and  their  knowledge  of  historical  facts. 
An  edict  of  toleration  was  enacted  into  law  in  Mary- 
land in  1649.  But  this  scarcely  granted  religious 
liberty,  for  under  it  denial  of  the  divinity  of  Christ 
or  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  was  to  be  punished 
by  confiscation  of  property  and  by  death,  and  re- 
proachful words  concerning  the  Virgin  Mary  in- 
volved the  penalties  of  fine,  public  whipping,  and 
imprisonment.  On  the  other  hand,  two  years  be- 
fore, in  1647,  Roger  Williams  secured  a  charter  for 
the  colony  which  he  had  founded  eleven  years  pre- 
viously on  the  foundation  of  religious  liberty.  It 
was  here  that  religious  liberty  was  legally  born, 
though  it  had  been  long  advocated  by  the  Anabap- 
tists, their  predecessors  and  successors. 


Note  24  Appendix  297 

Moreover,  credit  for  the  Maryland  edict  of  tolera- 
tion cannot  be  claimed  by  Romanists.  The  colony 
was  not  Roman  Catholic,  though  Lord  Baltimore, 
its  owner  and  head,  was.  This  is  to  be  necessarily 
deduced  from  the  statement  of  Father  White,  the 
Jesuit  colonist  of  Lord  Baltimore,  who  says,  ''  For 
in  leading  the  colony  to  Maryland,  by  far  the  greater 
part  were  heretics."  Furthermore,  the  very  legisla- 
ture which  passed  the  edict  was  two-thirds  Protes- 
tant, and  the  principles  of  this  act  were  objected  to 
in  the  following  year  by  the  four  Roman  Catholic 
members  of  the  legislature  as  contrary  to  their  re- 
ligion. The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that,  while  Lord 
Baltimore  deserves  personally  some  of  the  credit 
for  the  edict,  he  was  forced  thereto  by  circumstances 
and  not  led  by  any  conviction  of  his  as  to  the  validity 
of  that  which  his  church  has  consistently  condemned. 
The  very  charter  of  his  colony  required  that  the 
Church  of  England  worship  should  be  maintained 
there.  The  financial  straits  of  the  proprietor,  the 
needs  of  the  colonists,  and  the  religious  affiliations 
of  those  already  in  the  colony  made  it  imperative 
that  others  than  the  Roman  minority  should  have 
some  rights  of  worship.  Thus  it  was  the  expediency 
of  his  own  private  prosperity  which  led  Lord  Balti- 
more to  appoint  a  Protestant  governor  and  to  agree 
to  the  position  of  the  Protestant  legislature.  Be- 
sides, England  was  at  this  time  in  the  grip  of  Crom- 
well, and  Lord  Baltimore  would  not  have  dared  to 
take   a  position   which  would   have  brought  upon 


298  Positive  Protestantism  Note  2^ 

himself  the  displeasure  of  the  dominant  power  or 
to  have  thus  given  color  to  the  rumors  which  were 
floating  about  England  that  Maryland  was  *'  a  hot- 
bed of  popery."  ^ 

NOTE    25.      ATTITUDE    OF    ROME    TOWARD    DEMOCRACY 
IN  THE  PAST 

It  is  claimed  that  in  the  distant  past  Rome  was 
sometimes  on  the  side  of  the  people  against  their 
kings.  But  this  position  of  Rome  was  not  in  the 
interest  of  the  people,  but  of  Rome.  The  right  of 
the  people  to  oppose  their  governments  was  recog- 
nized when  it  suited  the  purposes  of  the  hierarchy 
to  thwart  the  said  governments,  but  the  sovereign 
will  of  the  people  against  and  over  the  authority  of 
Rome  was  never  granted  directly  or  indirectly.  It 
is  significant  of  the  inherent  antagonism  between 
Romanism  and  democracy  that  the  supremacy  of  the 
medieval  papacy  over  kings,  emperors,  and  peoples 
was  broken  by  the  rise  of  nationalism  in  the  respec- 
tive nations  of  Europe.  This  is  illustrated  by  the 
situation  in  France,  where  the  king  appealed  to  the 
people,  and  by  that  in  England,  where  the  demand 
of  the  commons  and  nobility  for  Magna  Charta  was 
effective  though  declared  null  and  void  by  the  pope. 

In  regard  both  to  political  and  religious  liberty, 
which  are  such  emphatic  American  principles,  it  is 

^  A  fuller  treatment  of  the  evidence  concerning  this  claim  of 
Gibbons  and  others  is  to  be  found  in  R.  H.  McKim,  "  Romanism  in 
the  Light  of  History,"  pp.  245-271. 


Note  26  Appendix  299 

sometimes  urged  by  Romanists  that  the  teachings  of 
their  Church  cannot  be  against  American  institu- 
tions, because  so  many  Romanist  individuals  have 
rendeired  conspicuous  service  in  the  interests  of 
hberty  and  America.  Cardinal  Gibbons  has  recently 
so  argued.  No  one  should  wish  to  take  away  any 
due  credit  from  Roman  Catholic  fellow  citizens  of 
the  past  or  the  present,  but  the  attitude  of  these  in 
no  way  diminishes  the  force  of  Rome's  historic 
positions  as  to  political  and  religious  liberty,  the 
necessity  of  union  of  Church  and  State  with  the 
Church  in  control,  the  denial  of  the  freedom  of 
speech,  of  the  press,  and  of  education,  and  her  own 
absolutist  government.  America  has  undoubtedly 
put  her  spirit  into  the  patriotic  hearts  of  many  Ro- 
manists, but  they  themselves  should  realize  how 
much  Romanism  must  change  her  past  utterances, 
still  unchangeably  asserted,  if  Romanism  in  Amer- 
ica is  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  freedom  and  democ- 
racy of  American  institutions. 

NOTE  26.      FACTS  AS  TO  THE  DECLINE  OF  ROMANISM 
IN  EUROPE 

In  Germany,  from  1890  to  1900,  inclusive,  there 
were  46,600  conversions  from  Romanism  to  Prot- 
estantism, while  there  were  only  6,820  going  the 
other  way.  (Bain,  p.  100.)  In  1902  there  were  cele- 
brated in  Wurtemberg  677  mixed  marriages  ac- 
cording to  Protestant  rites,  and  only  246  according 


300  Positive  Protestantism  Note  2/ 

to  Romanism;  and  in  1901  the  numbers  were  700 
and  248  respectively.  The  resultant  losses  to  Ro- 
manism are  a  subject  of  complaint  among  Roman- 
ists. In  Austria  the  ''  Los  von  Rom  "  ("  Away  from 
Rome  ")  movement  has  resulted  in  astounding  de- 
fections. In  the  sixteen  states  of  Austria  there 
were  in  1912,  according  to  the  census,  539,256  se- 
ceders  from  Rome  to  Protestantism.  (See  John  Clif- 
ford's speech  reported  in  ''  The  Standard "  [Chi- 
cago] August  16,  1913.)  "Of  Protestants  there 
were  in  Austria  in  1857,  292,127;  in  1900,  497,502; 
in  1912,  674,000."  In  other  words,  the  increase 
from  1857  to  1900,  forty-three  years,  was  only  205,- 
375,  while  in  the  twelve  years  from  1900  to  1912 
the  increase  was  181,490,  a  little  over  seven-eighths 
as  many.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  these  great  numbers 
of  seceders  will  still  abide  within  some  branch  of 
the  Christian  church  and  not  fall  away  entirely. 


NOTE  2y.      EFFECT  OF  LIBERAL  STUDIES  UPON  AN 
OPEN-MINDED   PRIEST 

In  "  The  Independent "  for  September  6,  1906, 
there  appeared  an  article  described  as  by  "  Very 
Rev.  J.  R.  Slattery,  Founder  and  Superior  of  Saint 
Joseph's  Society  for  Negro  Missions  in  Baltimore, 
Md.  He  is  the  representative  of  a  distinguished 
Catholic  family  in  this  city,  which  has  given  large 
support  to  Catholic  charities.  For  several  years  he 
has  lived  mostly  in  Europe,  devoted  to  historical 


Note  2'j  Appendix  301 

studies,  and  has  a  very  large  acquaintance  with  dis- 
tinguished Catholics  here  and  abroad."  This  arti- 
cle will  repay  reading  for  its  revelation  of  the  effect 
of  honest  study  by  an  honest  mind  according  to 
modern  scientific  methods,  even  though  the  mind  is 
that  of  an  ardent  Romanist.  One  quotation  will  be 
suggestive :  ''  In  almost  every  case  of  a  contested 
point  between  Catholics  and  Protestants,  the  latter 
are  right  and  the  former  wrong." 


BOOK-LIST  FOR  REFERENCE 
AND  STUDY 

GENERAL 

In  addition  to  general  encjxlopedias  and  general  church 
histories,  these  works  should  be  consulted  for  further  study : 

The  Catholic  Encyclopedia. 

The  New  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia  of  Religious  Knowl- 
edge. 

PART  I 

Bacon,  L.  W. :  "  History  of  American  Christianity." 
Cavanagh,  Wm.  Henry:  "The  Word  Protestant  in  Litera- 
ture, History,  and  Legislation." 
Gale,  Frank  H. :  "  The  Story  of  Protestantism." 
Hatch,  Edwin:  "The  Organization  of  the  Early  Christian 

Church." 
Lindsay,    Thomas    M. :    "  History    of    the    Reformation." 

2  vols. 
Lindsay,  Thomas  M. :  "  Martin  Luther." 
Newman,  A.  H. :  "  History  of  Anti-Pedobaptism." 
Vedder,  Henry  C. :  "A  Short  History  of  the  Baptists." 
Vedder,  Henry  C. :  "  The  Reformation  in  Germany." 

PART  II 

Bousset,  Wm. :  "  The  Faith  of  a  Modern  Protestant." 
Coppens,    Charles,    S.   J. :    "A    Systematic    Study   of   the 

Catholic  Religion."     Second  Edition. 
Domer,  Isaac  A. :  "  History  of  the  Protestant  Theology." 

2  vols. 
Foster,    Frank   Hugh:    "The   Fundamental    Ideas    of   the 

Roman  Catholic  Church." 


Book-list  for  Reference  and  Study        303 

Gibbons,  James  (Cardinal)  :  "  The  Faith  of  Our  Fathers." 
Grounds  of   the  CathoUc  Doctrine,   Confession  of   Faith, 

published  by  Pope  Pius  IV. 
Von  Hase,  Carl  A. :  "  Handbook  to  the  Controversy  with 

Rome." 
Hill,'  U.  P. :  "  The  Catholic's  Ready  Answer." 
McGiffert,  A.  C. :  "  Protestant  Thought  Before  Kant." 
McKim,  R.  H. :  "  Romanism  in  the  Light  of  History." 
Miller,  Robert  J. :  "  The  Fundamentals  of  Protestantism." 
Moehler,  John  Adam :   "  Symbolism  of  Doctrinal  Differ- 
ences Between  Catholics  and  Protestants."    Translated 
by  James  Burton  Robertson. 
Pfleiderer,  Otto :  "  The  Development  of  Theology  in  Ger- 
many since  Kant." 

PART  HI 

Annual  Reports  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 

Christ  in  America,  1912,  1913,  1914,  1915. 
Annual   Report   of   the   Foreign   Missions   Conference   of 

North  America,  1914. 
Annual  Report  of  the  Home  Missions  Council,  1915. 
Ashworth,  R.  A. :  "  The  Union  of  Christian  Forces." 
Carroll,  H.  K. :  "  The  Religious  Forces  of  the  U.  S." 
Bain,  John  A. :  "  The  New  Reformation." 
Harnack,  Adolph :  "  Thoughts  on  the  Present  Position  of 

Protestantism." 
Loeppert,  Wm. :  "  Modernism  and  the  Vatican." 
MacFarland,  Charles  S. :  "  Christian  Unity  at  Work." 
MacFarland,  C.  S. :  "  The  Churches  of  the  Federal  Council." 
Smyth,    Newman :    "  Passing    Protestantism    and    Coming 

Catholicism." 
Troeltsch,  Ernest :  "  Protestantism  and  Progress." 
U.   S.  Census,  Special  Report :   "  Religious   Bodies,"   1906, 

Parts  I  and  H. 
Usher,  Edward  P. :  **  Protestantism,  A  Study  in  the  Direc- 
tion of  Religious  Truth  and  Christian  Unity." 


Tndex 


INDEX 


Adrian  VI,  Pope,   285. 

Adventists,   204,   205. 

Alexander    IV,   Pope,    290. 

Alexander  VIII,   Pope,   262. 

Alva,  Duke  of,  32. 

Americanism,  251,  2T2. 

American  Sunday  School  Union, 
225. 

Anabaptists,  10,  39;  beliefs  of, 
4off. ;  bodies  of,  198-212;  per- 
secutions of,  38,  41,  42,  43,  51. 

Anti-Saloon  League,  233. 

Apocrypha,   50,   157,  286. 

Apostolicity,   110-115. 

Apostolic  succession,  103,  iiof., 
inf.,  149. 

Aquinas,  St.  Thomas,  160,  164. 

Arianism,  239. 

Arius,  284. 

Athanasius,  284. 

Attendance  on  church,  171-174. 

Augsburg  Confession,  23. 

Augsburg:  Diet  of,  22,  23;  Peace 
of,  22,  23. 

Augustine,  St.,   159,   160. 

Authority  of   Scripture,    141-143. 


Bancroft,  176. 

Baptism:  mentioned  and  dis- 
cussed, 4,  68,  84,  85-89,  119, 
207,  262;  infant   (see  "  Infant 


baptism  ") ;    necessity    of,   2(i2- 

264. 
Baptist  beliefs,  200. 
Baptist  organizations,    201-203. 
Baptists:     described,     176,     199, 

216,     221,     222,     240;     Camp- 

bellite,  204;  Hard-shell,  203. 
Benedict  X,  Pope,  138. 
Benedict  XIV,  Pope,  140. 
Bernard,  St.,  160. 
Bigotry,    146,    147,    148,    173. 
Bishop,  3,  4,  5,  24,  37,   112,  122, 

123,   138;  universal,  132-136. 
Bohemian  Brethren,  198. 
Boniface  VIII,  Pope,  178,  289. 
Borgia,  12. 
Bull:    papal,    18;    In   Coena   Do- 

mini,    291;     Pastor    Aetcrnus, 

290;   Unam  Sanctam,  289,  290. 


Cajetan,  Cardinal,  104,  137. 

Calvin,   John,   28-31,    37,   51. 

Calvinism  and  Lutheranism  com- 
pared, 25,  26. 

Campbellite    Baptists,    204. 

Campbell,  Thomas  and  Alexan- 
der, 204. 

Canonization  of  Saints,   156. 

Cardinals,  178.  (Also  see  indi- 
vidual names.) 

Catholicity,   115. 

Celibacy,  12,  120-122,  273,  274. 

Celtic   Church,    136,   278. 


^07 


3o8 


Inde: 


Certainty,    religious,    149-152. 

Charles,  Emperor,  19,  20,  21,  22, 
30,  36. 

Chastity,   12  if. 

Christian  Connection,  the,  204. 

Christian    Science,    188. 

Church  attendance,    171-174. 

Churches  of  Christ,  204. 

Churches  of  God  in  North  Amer- 
ica, 204. 

Church,    New   Testament,   3f. 

Church  Union,  203,  204. 

Clement  I,  Pope,  274. 

Clement  XIV,  Pope,  271,  275. 

Close     communion,     i9if'>     i94» 
201. 

Confession,  90,  92-95- 

Confessional,  the,  93f. 

Confirmation,  89. 

Congregationalists,        195,        196, 
212  fn.,  215, 

Conquest   of   America,   243,    244, 
254. 

Continuation  Committee,  227f. 

Cooperation    of    Protestants    and 
Romanists,  253. 

Copernican  theory,  246. 

Corruption    of    the    church,     11, 
12,  16. 

Council:  Chalcedon,  6,  268,  278, 
284;  Constance,  17,  130,  138, 
267,  278;  First  Constantinople, 
278,  Second,  268,  Third,  284, 
Fifth,  268;  Florence,  262; 
Frankfort,  268;  Fourth  Later- 
an,  146;  Nicsea,  5,  213,  278; 
Pisa,  138;  Trent,  22,  49f.,  127, 
161,  162,  261,  268,  286,  288, 
290,  291;  Vatican,  130,  137, 
140,  148,  161,  233-237,  272, 
276,  291. 
Councils,  General,  7,  60,  129-131, 
135  fn-i  136,  161,  267,  268, 
278. 
Cyprian,    276,    282. 


D 


Decretals,  false,  6  fn. 
Democracy:  mentioned,  245,  298, 

299;     ecclesiastical,     123,     171, 

177-179,     200,     217;     political, 

179,  180. 
Denck,  Hans,  42. 
Denominational      families,       189, 

190,   192  and  fn.,  196  fn.,  205 

fn.,  212   fn. 
Denominationalism,      benefit     of, 

222-224. 
Diet:      of      Augsburg,      22;      of 

Worms,   19,  21. 
Disciples   of   Christ,   the,  203. 
Disparateness       of      Protestants, 

2i9f.,  221. 
Disputations   in    Switzerland,   27. 
Divisiveness:     of     Protestantism, 

219-222;  of  Romanism,  270-272. 

(See  also  "  Schism.") 
Divisions    of    Protestantism: 

causes  of,  216-218;  importance 

of,    187,    188;   number  of,  215, 

216. 
Divorce,  268-270. 
Dominicans,   51,    150,   271. 
Douai    Version,     104,     126,     162, 

265-267,  273,  274. 
Duke  of  Alva,  32. 
Dunkards,  206,  207. 


Eastern  Catholic  Church,  109, 
120,  136,  161  fn.,  188,  206, 
278. 

Eck,  John,    18. 

Education:  freedom  of,  182,  183; 
missionary,      228f.;      religious, 

225f. 

Elder,  3,  4. 
Elizabeth,  33,  34,  36. 


Index 


309 


Episcopalians,   196,   197. 
Eternal  punishment,  9 if.,    164. 
Ethical  Culturists,   189. 
Eucharist,     the,     95-103.        (See 

also  *'  Lord's   Supper.") 
Eusebius,   113. 

Evangelical  Alliance,  236   fn. 
Evangelical    Association,   211. 
Evangelical  bodies,    192. 
Exclusivism,    174,  253.    (See  also 

"  Sole  channel  of  grace.") 
Extreme  unction,  106,  107. 


Frederick,  Elector  of  Saxony, 
IS,  16,  17,  19,  20. 

Freedom:  discussed,  174-183,  244, 
245,  254;  achieved  by  German 
Reformation,  23;  early  Chris- 
tian, 4;  of  Anabaptists,  41;  of 
education,  182,  183;  of  French 
Calvinism,  31;  of  learning, 
143-145,  181,  182;  of  the  press, 
174,  i75i  180,  181;  of  speech, 
174,  175,   180,   181. 

Free  schools,    182,   183. 

Friends,   the,   176,  207. 

Froment,  28. 


Factions,  i87f. 

Faith:   mentioned  and  discussed, 

80,    81,   83,    8s,    89,    107,    108- 

110,    iisf.,   116,   118,   141,    143, 

151,      165,      171,      i72f.,      200; 

Protestant   view   of,    65-67,    78, 

79;   Romanist  view  of,  77,  78, 

261. 
Fallibility:    mentioned,     138;    of 

general  councils,  130,  138,  139; 

of  popes,  139,  140,  283-286;  of 

tradition,  127,   129. 
Families,      denominational,      189, 

190,     192     and    fn.,     196    fn., 

205   fn.,  212   fn. 
Families,   relative  size  of,  241. 
Farel,  28,   30. 
Federal  Council  of  the  Churches 

of  Christ  in  America,  233-237. 
Federated  church,  the,  232. 
Federations  of  churches,  233. 
Fenelon,    I44f. 
Footwashing,  84,  205,  206. 
Foreign    Missions   Conference   of 

North  America,  228f. 
Forgiveness,   91-95,    i65f. 
"  Form,"  the  term,  105  and  fn. 
Franciscans,  47,  50,  51,  271. 
Fraternity     of     Protestants     and 

Romanists,  252-254. 


General  Councils,  (See  "Coun- 
cils.") 

German  Baptist  Brethren,  206. 

Gibbons,  Cardinal,  16,  82,  85,  96, 
147,  157,  164,  167,  175,  239. 
259,  283,  287  fn.,  294ff.,  299. 

Grades  of  the  ministry,  122,  123. 

Great  Schism,    130,   138. 

Gregory  I,  the  Great,  Pope,  136, 
139,   277,  283. 

Gregory  II,   Pope,   268. 

Gregory  VII,   Pope,  6. 

Gregory  XVI,  Pope,  174. 


H 

Hard-shell   Baptists,  203. 
Heathen  responsiveness,  247f. 
Henry   VIII,   34f. 
Heretical   popes,  284,   285. 
Holiness,    116. 

Home  Missions  Councils,  226f. 
Honorius  I,  Pope,  284. 
Honorius  III,  Pope,  290. 
Hiibmaier,  42,  43. 
Humanism,  9f.,  30,  35,  49. 
Hus,  John,  17,  19,  163  fn. 


3IO 


Index 


Images,  i6i,  162. 

Immaculate  Conception,  159,  160. 

Immersion:    baptism   by,    41,   89, 

200;   trine,  206. 
Immigration,  237,  240. 
Incense,  169, 

Independent  churches,  214,   215. 
Index,  the,  51,  52,  149,  180,  181, 

246. 
Indulgences,    11,    16,   91,   95    fn., 

156,   162-164. 
Infallibility:     importance     of, 

i3if.,'    of   the   pope,    131,    136- 

138,      149,     276-279;      of     the 

teaching  office,  124,  160. 
Infant   baptism,    59,    86,   87,    89, 

90,  200,  206,  264,  265. 
Influence    of    Protestantism    and 

Romanism,   relative,  242,  243. 
Innocent  III,  Pope,  285. 
Innocent  IV,  Pope,  290. 
Inquisition,   the,   51,   52. 
Intention,    doctrine   of,    82,    150, 

261. 
Interdenominational  church,  the, 

231. 
International      Reform      Bureau, 

233. 
Irenaeus,  112,   113. 


Jerome,  St.,  50,  286,  288. 

Jesuits,  47-51,  52,  140,  153,  154 
fn.,   271,    272. 

Jesus'  teaching:  on  ceremonial- 
ism, 80;  on  chastity,  121;  on 
faith,  65-67;  on  legalism,  75; 
on  monasticism,  155;  on  relig- 
ious certainty,  151;  on  pen- 
ance, 91;  on  satisfactions,  95; 
on  supererogation,  72. 


Jews,  85,  188. 
John,  the  apostle,  159. 
John  XXII,  Pope,  284. 
Justification,  61. 
Justin  Martyr,  162. 


"  Keys,"  the,   133. 
Knox,  John,   33,  34. 


Legalism,  pharisaic  and  Roman- 
ist,   73-75. 

Leipzig,  Disputation  of,   17. 

Leo  II,  Pope,  284. 

Leo  IX,  Pope,  271. 

Leo  XIII,  Pope,  139,  175,  276, 
283,  291. 

Liberius,  Pope,  284. 

Liberty,    religious,    174-177,    198, 

199,  220,  223,  246,  254,  294- 
298,   299. 

Lombard,  Peter,  262. 
Lord's     Supper,     the:     discussed, 
4,   24,    26,   27,   41,   84,   95-103, 

200,  2o5»  207,  262;  in  one 
kind,  102,  103;  Protestant 
views  of,  98-100. 

Losses  of  Romanism,  237,  24of., 
248,  249,  299,  300. 

Loyola,  Ignatius,  47f.,   149. 

Luther,  Martin:  referred  to,  10, 
14-21,  24,  26,  27,  28,  32,  49, 
62,  144,  149,  163  fn.,  259;  on 
infant  baptism  264f. 

Lutheran  bodies,   191,   192. 

Lutheranism:  Protestant  signifi- 
cance of,  i9of.;  compared  with 
Calvinism,   25,   26, 


Index 


311 


M 


O 


Manning,  Cardinal,  150. 

Mariolatry,  11,  159-161. 

Marks:  of  the  church,  1 10-11 7; 
of  saints,   156. 

Marriage:  Romanist  view  of, 
104-106;  and  divorce,  268-270; 
mixed,  105,  106  fn.;  of  min- 
isters and  priests,  24,   120-122. 

Mary:  cult  of,  159-161,  i6y, 
prayers  to,  292-294;  titles  of, 
293. 

Mar}%  Queen,  36. 

Mass,  the:  discussed,  101,  102, 
119,  163,  166,  169  and  fn.; 
attendance  on,  177. 

"Matter,"  the  term,  105  fn. 

Menno  Simons,  43,   198. 

Mennonites,    198. 

Merit,  68-70. 

Methodist:  beliefs,  208,  209; 
bodies,  209. 

Methodists,  207-212. 

Millerite    Movement,    205. 

Minister,   the,    117-123. 

Missionary  education,  228f. 

Missions,  Protestant  and  Roman- 
ist, 246,  247,  263f. 

Modernism,  58,  59,  183,  247f., 
249-252,  252  fn.,  272,  295. 

Moehler,  13  fn.,  58  fn.,  61,  77, 
127,  260,  262,  275,  287  fn.,  291. 

Monasticism,    153-155. 

Monastic  vows,  7Z,  153.   I55- 

Moravian  Brethren,    198. 

Mormons,  188. 


N 


Nantes,  Edict  of,  31. 
Newman,  Cardinal,  150. 
Nonconformists,  11. 
Non-Protestant  bodies,   188,    189. 


Order,  sacrament  of,   103. 

Orders,  monastic.  (See  "  Domini- 
cans," "  Franciscans,"  and 
"  Jesuits.") 

Ordination,   I03f.,   118. 

Organic  church  union,  203,  204, 
221-224,   229,  230. 

Origen,   162. 


Patrick,  St.,  279. 

Paul,  the  apostle,  teachings  of: 
on  authority,  134;  on  cere- 
monialism, 81;  on  faith,  67; 
on  forgiveness,  94;  on  legal- 
ism, 76;  on  religious  certainty, 
151;  on  saint  worship,   159. 

Paul  III,  Pope,  47. 

Peace,  207. 

Penance,  90-95,  265;  the  term, 
see  Appendix,  note  8. 

Persecutions:  in  England,  36;  in 
the  Netherlands,  32,  51,  52;  of 
Anabaptists,  38,  41,  42,  43,  51. 

Peter,  the  apostle,  76,  112,  113, 
114,  i58f.,  279,  280. 

Pilgrimages,  11,  24,  167. 

Pius   IV,  Pope,    127,  275,  285: 

Pius  VII,  Pope,  271. 

Pius  IX,  Pope,  161,  17s,  182, 
291,  292. 

Pius  X,  Pope,  105,  181,  245, 
249,  250,   252   fn.,  294,   295. 

Polish  National  Church,  the,  188. 

Pope:  authority  of  the,  6  (and 
see  "Infallibility");  suprem- 
acy of,  6f.,  49;  temporal  power 
of,  12,  i78flf.  and  fn. 

Popes,    heretical,   284,   285. 

Power,  relative,  243,  244. 


312 


Index 


Prayers:  to  Mary,  292-294;  to 
saints,  158,  292. 

Presbyterians,    176,    193-196. 

Priest,  the,    1 18-120,    272,  273. 

Priesthood:  the,  4f.;  of  all  be- 
lievers,   117,    170. 

Private  judgment,   141-143,   145. 

Property,  relative  possession,  241, 
242. 

Protest,  the,    57. 

"  Protestant,"  the  term,   57. 

Public  schools,   182,  183. 

Punishment:  eternal,  91  fn.,  164; 
temporal,  91  fn.,  163. 

Purgatory,  91,  95  fn.,  156,  163, 
164-167,  286. 

Puritans,  37. 


Quakers,  207. 


R 


Reformation,  the:  in  England, 
34-37;  in  France,  29-31;  in 
Germany,  14-24;  in  the  Neth- 
erlands, 32,  33;  in  Scotland, 
33;   in  Switzerland,  26-29. 

Reformation,  the  Catholic,  45- 
47;  the  Italian,  46;  the  Span- 
ish, 45,  46. 

Reformed  bodies,  the,   192-196. 

Reformed  Catholic  Church,  the, 
188. 

Relics,  168. 

Religious  liberty,  174-177,  198, 
199,  220,  223,  246,  254,  294- 
298,  299. 

Renaissance,  the,  9. 

Repentance,  92,  266. 

Restricted  Communion,  191  f., 
194,  201. 

"  Rock,"  the,  32,  133,  277,  283. 


Sacraments:  definitions,  82  (and 
see  separate  names,  "  Bap- 
tism," "  Confirmation,"  "  Eu- 
charist," "  Extreme  unction," 
"  Marriage,"  "  Order,"  "  Pen- 
ance ") ;   number  of,   83,  84. 

Saint  Bartholomew's  Day,  31. 

Saints:  canonization  of,  156; 
veneration  and  worship  of,  11, 
156-161. 

Salvation  Army,  212. 

Satisfactions,  90,  94. 

Savonarola,    9,    46. 

Schism:  in  the  church,  149,  i87f., 
271;  the  Great,   130,   138. 

Schools:  free  and  public,  182, 
183;  Protestant,  242,  243. 

Science,   246. 

Scriptures:  authority  of,  125, 
141-143;  canon  of,  49,  50,  286, 
287;  lay  use  of,  i26f.,  ^42,  143, 
274-276;  Romanist,  286,  287 
(and  see  also  "  Douai  ") ;  sub- 
ordination of,  to  the  teaching 
ofiice,    124-126. 

Separation  of  the  Church  and 
State,  41,  42,  59,  176,  177,  179, 
183,  200. 

Septuagint,  the,   50  and  fn. 

Servetus,    51. 

Sigismund,    Emperor,    19. 

Socialistic  tendencies,    10. 

Social  service,  232,  234,  253. 

Sole  channel  of  grace,  146-152, 
164,  171,  289. 

Spiritualists,  188. 

Staupitz,   John,    15. 

Stephen  IX,  Pope,  138. 

Student  Volunteer  Movement, 
229. 

Succession:  apostolic,  103,  iiof., 
inf.,  149;  papal,  112-114,  132- 
136,   139. 


Index 


313 


Sunday  School  Association,  225. 
Supererogation,  71-73. 
Superstition,  11,   16,  70,  71,   15s, 

158,   162,   166,   167,  168. 
Swedenborgians,   214. 


Universalists,  213. 
Urban  VIII,  Pope,  285. 


Temporal  power  of  the  Pope,  12, 

i78ff.  and  fn. 
Temporal     punishment,     91      fn., 

163. 
Ten  Commandments,   162. 
Tertullian,  159,  281. 
Tetzel,   16. 
Theosophists,   188. 
Theses,     ninety-five,     of     Martin 

Luther,   17. 
Torquemada,  51. 
Tradition,  4,  50,  127-129. 
Transubstantiation,    95-98. 


U 


Unchangeability,   252,   276-279. 

Union  Church,  the,  231,  232. 

Union,  organic,  203,  204,  221- 
224,  229,  230. 

Unitarianisra,    213,    214,    239. 

United  Brethren  in  Christ,  the, 
211. 

Unity:  definition  of  Protestant, 
117,  224;  growing  conscious- 
ness of  Protestant,  23of.; 
Protestant,  in  education,  22$i., 
22g{.;  in  evangelism,  230,  231; 
in  missions,  226-230;  in  re- 
form, 232f.,  in  small  com- 
munities, 231,  232;  in  social 
service,  232;  Romanist,  270- 
272. 


Vedanta   Society,    188. 
Veneration  of  saints,  156-159. 
Vigilius,  Pope,  284. 
Visible  Church,  the,  109. 
Vows,   Monastic,  73,   153,   155. 
Vulgate  Version,  50,   286,  288. 


W 

Wesley,  John,  207. 

William  of  Orange,  32f. 

Williams,    Roger,    i76f.,    199. 

Wittenberg:  Church  at,  17;  Uni- 
versity of,   15. 

Works,  meritorious,  68-77. 

World  Conference  on  Faith  and 
Order,  the,  221  fn. 

Worms,  Diet  of,  19,  21. 

Worship:  Romanist  and  Protes- 
tant compared,  169-171;  early 
Christian,  3;  of  saints,  156- 
161. 

Wyclif,  John,   17,  33,  34. 


X 


Ximenes,   Cardinal,  46. 


Zwingli,  Huldreich    (Ulrich),  26, 
27,    37.   42,    43,   259- 


Date  Due 

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